


One Day More (Tauriel x fem!reader)

by Trinis



Category: Lord of the Rings - Fandom, The Hobbit, lotr - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Reader is a lil chubby, Tauriel x You, Tauriel x reader - Freeform, Tauriel(Hobbit Movies) x reader, Tauriel/Reader - Freeform, Tauriel/You - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 47,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26798803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trinis/pseuds/Trinis
Summary: (Y/N), a musician from earth who knows nothing about LOTR or The Hobbit, gets sucked into Middle Earth. There, she meets Tauriel, the captain of the guard in the forest of Mirkwood. Watch as (Y/N), tries to fit in, and not fall in love with Tauriel. She fails, obviously.
Relationships: Tauriel x reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. The Day You Passed the Fuck Out

**Author's Note:**

> THIS FIC CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE, RAPE, AND NIGHT TERRORS.
> 
> If you or anyone you know is experiencing anything portrayed in this fic, call this abuse hotline: 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224
> 
> ________________
> 
> There are a lot of continuity errors in this story, but I know my fellow gays are too thirsty for Tauriel to care about things like that. This story can also be found on Quotev, under the same profile name. Yes, I have two accounts where I post stories.
> 
> also, if you’re Evangeline Lily pls don’t read this

“Ah, fuck me!”

It had been snowing violently outside for the entire day, the wind whipping your face until it stung, and the wet snow soaking you and your belongings as you trudged home from work. You shivered as you walked on the freshly covered snow that had your feet wet to the bone. That, along with the occasional slipping across patches of ice on the concrete. Your large violin case almost weighed you down, but you managed to save it as you almost slipped on the icy ground.

You worked at a music school, and though you were only 23 years old, the company let you become a violin teacher. The only reason that they even considered hiring you, was your musical history.

They had you start by teaching beginner classes, about 6 to 10 years old, if not a little bit older. Occasionally, there would be a full grown adult in the class. You knew that they were just beginners, and that it wasn’t their fault, but God it still hurt to listen to them attempting to play the stringed instrument.

Finally scurrying up to the doorstep, you scraped your feet across the old fading welcome mat to remove the snow as you fumbled with taking out your chipped house key with one hand while still holding your violin case.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” You muttered as you almost shoved the key into the keyhole. “Fuck, fuck, fuck it’s cold!”

You pushed open the door with your right foot as the sharp wind almost blew the door inwards. You quickly put your violin case on the floor, the tough plastic bouncing on the floor ever so slightly. You hurried to shut the door as snow began to blow into the house. You closed it shut, and locked it. You leaned your back against the door, panting from your unexpected adventure.

Taking a look around, you noticed that the small house was dark and quiet. The only thing on, was the fridge and the heater.

“They must not be home yet...” You mumbled to yourself.

They meaning; your lovely roommate: Fey. Fey was a very friendly person, and they were a fellow musician as well. They played the cello and the double bass, but their specialty was the electric bass. Fey worked at a music school as well, but it was a different one a few miles away from the one you worked at. It looked like they might be coming home a little late today. After all, it must have been the snow storm raging outside that’s causing their delay home.

You kicked off your boots on the rug near the door, and trudged with wet socks to your room. You placed your violin case near your closet along with your viola case. You played both the violin and the viola, because they are so similar. But everyone knows that the viola is the superior instrument.

You also played a little bit of piano. And you were quite good at it too, but you hadn’t had access to a piano for about a year now. You were pretty out of practice.

You sighed deeply as you tried to shake the stress of the day off. All day today, your reckless students have been giving you hell, and you got a whole-ass cello almost thrown at your head by a kid with anger issues. “Today sucked ass,” You drawl out making sure to elongate the ‘ass’.

Dragging your feet behind you to the shower, you stripped yourself of your clothing leaving a pile behind you. You closed the door to your bathroom and pulled open a drawer that held your hair brush. Running the black brush through your (h/l) (h/c) hair you flinched coming along a few knots.

“Stupid kid,” You muttered to yourself as you roughly brushed your hair. “Try to throw a cello at me, huh? I’ll hit you in the face with an octobass like a fucking baseball bat!”

You sat down your brush and stepped into the shower turning the knob to the perfect temperature waiting for the water to heat up properly. It was boiling hot. Perfect.

You began rubbing conditioner in your hair very roughly as you came up with a bunch of things you wished you could tell that kid.

“Who the fuck you think you are, huh bitch?!”

“You wanna go?! You wanna fucking go with me?! You’ll be dead in twelve seconds scraggly ass bitch!”

“You wanna catch these hands?! ‘Cause you will!”

“Who the fuck names their kid a stupid-ass name like that? Might as well name her ‘Abcde!’”

You were soon done venting, you were also done with your shower, and you stepped out. You dried yourself off, moisturized your face and body, dried your hair with a blow drier, and got dressed. You wore a light gray v-neck t-shirt, white socks, black pants, a red flannel, and a dark red hoodie with fuzz on the inside and white hoodie strings over the flannel.

On your wrist, was a clip-on blue bracelet. It was made of three pieces of thick thread, all of them a different shade of blue. On it, was a silver charm, with an imprint of a simple crescent moon on it. Your friend David gave it to you on your birthday a few years back. He said that it was his mom’s, but you knew that he got it at a dollar store. But still, you appreciated the thought he put into it. It was still your favorite thing he gave you.

Sauntering into the kitchen, you grabbed an entire box of your favorite snack, and went into the living room. You plopped onto the couch and grabbed your laptop before taking another bite of your snack. Just as you would’ve gone on Tumblr or YouTube, you heard a huge thump outside. It was so loud, that it made your jump in your seat.

“What the shit?!” You cursed as you shut your laptop closed, and set it aside.

You grabbed your black Vans, and hastily put them on your feet. When you went outside, you noticed that the wind had died down, and it was now bearable to go outside. You looked left and right, searching for what had made the noise.

“Hello?” You called out. “Who made that sound? Are you okay? Do you need me to call the...”

Your voice died off as your eyes fell on a faint glow. A round stone, about the size of a small clementine, sat in the snow. It glowed with its own inner light, shining a bright a luminous white light, with traces of light purple in it. You couldn’t help but stare in wonder. It was the most beautiful thing your have ever seen.

You couldn’t help but reach a hand out towards it. As your drew closer, you couldn’t believe what you saw. In each facet, there were different transparent images. You couldn’t quite make them out, but as your fingertips touched the gemstone, something happened.

All of the sudden, your eyes and limbs grew heavy with sleep. Your heartbeat pounded in your brain as you crashed onto the ground, your head hitting the cold, wet freshly fallen snow on the ground.

Everything went dark.


	2. Tauriel

There was a painful throbbing inside your skull. You tried to move, massaging your sore head as your (e/c) eyes flicker open. They slowly adjusted to the darkness, seeing vague but unfamiliar formations around you. You rolled over, your cheek hit something wet and cold. You sat bolt upright in shock and eyes wide open. You looked around you... and started screaming.

You stared, open-mouthed, at the scene around you. You were in the middle of a forest. It was cold, dark, dank, and damp. The dying trees covered up the sky, making it seem like nighttime.

You pinched yourself. Hard. You pinched yourself again. You slapped yourself.

No, you were definitely awake and this was not a dream.

You looked to the ground beside you, and saw the same gem that you had touched outside your house. It was no longer glowing, and it looked like a round amethyst. You were afraid to touch it again, but something inside you told you to take it. Very carefully, you plucked it from the damp ground. Thankfully, nothing happened like last time. You put the gem inside your deep pants pocket, and buttoned it up.

Where the hell were you?! You didn’t have anything, except for the clothes on your back. You didn’t even have money or credit-cards with you. How were you going to get home? You were beginning to panic a little now. You could feel tears in your eyes.

“Get a hold of yourself, dammit,” You muttered to yourself. First things first, you needed to find a phone. Or find a person. Anyone, in fact. There had to be someone nearby, maybe a house or something.

There were no signs of life anywhere that you could tell. You cupped your hands to your mouth and yelled as loud as you could.

“HELLOOO! ANYONE THERE?” Nothing. You tried again. “HEEEYYY! HELLO! HELP! ANYONE?”

You climbed the nearest tree as high as you could. You weren’t much of a climber, but this tree was easy to climb.

“HELLO?!” You yelled even louder. “I’M LOST! I NEED HELP! I NEE-”

Suddenly, the branch you were standing on snapped. You screamed as you fell several feet, bouncing painfully off branches, and yelling in pain and shock the entire time. You caught yourself on a branch. You looked around, and saw you were surrounded by several Spider Webs. You heard something move in front of you.

Whatever it was, was hidden from your eyes by the thick webs. The webs in front of you began to move. You watched in absolute terror as the webs parted to reveal a massive spider. This wasn’t big like the wolf spiders you have been afraid of in your house, no. This thing’s pincers alone were the size of your forearm.

As the spider opened its fangs and hissed at you, you screamed, losing your balance and falling again, screaming the entire way. You landed on the ground with a large thud.

You began to hyperventilate as panic overcame you. You turned yourself over on your elbows and back, as you watched the spider jump down from the tree.

You screamed as you scrambled to your feet in a mad panic. You picked up a rock and threw it at the spider. “Fuck a duck!” You ran as fast as you could in the other direction, not even knowing if the rock did anything. Adrenaline roared through your veins as you ran for your life.

You stumbled a couple times on some branches and rocks, but nothing was stopping you from getting away from the spider. You looked over your shoulder, and saw that two more spiders joined the chase.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!” You rambled in a panic. Your brain demanded that your body go faster, but your legs could only go so fast. It was then you wished you had taken that gym membership.

“HELP!” You shouted as you ran. “HELP ME!”

Suddenly, a spider from a tree above pounced, and landed on top of you. You both rolled down the slope. When you reached the bottom, the spider pinned you to the ground. It opened its fangs as it hissed. Your heart beat violently in your chest as tears stung your eyes. Your mind scrambled to come up with a solution out of this situation, but could find none. You wanted to cry. You were going to die here, eaten by massive fucking bugs.

Suddenly, a whizzing sound was heard, and the spider recoiled as it hissed in pain. You looked up in surprise. An arrow was in the spider’s head. The spider’s legs were crunched up, and the eight-legged creature was unmoving on its back. You looked up, and saw someone running through the treetops, then he swung down a spider’s silk in order to land on one of the spiders and kill it with a fancy looking sword.

‘Awesome!’ You couldn’t help but think. It was about the coolest thing you have ever seen someone do.

The man slid on the forest floor under another spider, slicing it in half. Several more people came, killing the spiders with swords and arrows. Soon, all the spiders that had chased you were dead. You saw that a black-haired man had an arrow nocked in his bow and pointed at you. The other people drew arrows and pointed them at you as well.

You shrieked and held your hands up in the air, signifying your surrender. “Please!” You nearly begged. “Don’t hurt me! Please!”

You felt relief when they lowered their arrows, but you could tell that they were still cautious. “Please...” You pleaded again.

“Hold your fire,” A feminine voice assured the others. “At ease,”

The others put their weapons all the way down, seemingly reassured by the one who had just spoken. When the woman who spoke walked up towards you, you looked up at her, looking at her for the first time.

Big mistake. Huge.

This woman was strikingly gorgeous. She had long red locks, smooth pale skin, and gorgeous green eyes. You couldn’t help but notice that her ears had a slight pointed look to them.

The woman inspected you very closely. You noticed that she smelled of pine needles and fresh water.

‘Wait. Why am I smelling this woman?’

“Who are you?” She asked you.

You almost didn’t catch her question. “I’m...” You stumbled on your words. “I-I’m gay... NO!” You caught yourself. “I’m (Y/N)! I’m (Y/N) (L/N)...”

The red haired woman gave you a questioning look. “I must ask why you've entered Lord Thranduil’s lands, (Y/N) (L/N),”

“Lord who?” The foreign name didn’t sound familiar to you. Not at all.

“Don’t play games with me, human,” The woman snapped.

You grew even more confused than you already were. “Human?” Weren’t these guys humans? All people are human, right?

The red haired woman seemed to ignore your remark. “Why have you trespassed into these lands? Speak!”

You squeaked in fear as you dug your hands in your pocket. You held out the gem in front of you. “It was this!” You shouted in a panic. “I touched this thing, and all of a sudden I’m here! I swear to God!”

The woman stared at the dull gem in disbelief as the others behind her gasped as well. They murmured amongst themselves as they eyed the gem in your hands.

“In all my years...” The woman whispered to herself. Her face hardened as she turned to the others behind her. She barked a command that you didn’t understand. What language was she speaking?

The woman pulled you gently along as the group walked through the forest.

“Where are we going?” You asked.

The woman looked at you. “Lord Thranduil may have some questions for you,”

As the two of you walked along, a something up in the trees made the leaves stir. You couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched yelp and grab the woman’s arm as your fear of the unknown grew.

“What was that?” You asked in a panic. “Is it another spider?”

She pointed upwards. You followed her finger, and saw it was only a bird that made the noise. You flushed to the tips of your ears in embarrassment as you looked to the ground, “Oh...”

Despite your embarrassment, you spoke to the woman who pulled you along. “S-since you know my name...” You began. “May I know yours?”

The woman in front of you seemed conflicted to tell you that information, but she sighed. “Tauriel,” She answered simply.

“Tauriel...” You tested that name on your tongue. Had a nice ring to it.

After a moment of silence, you had noticed that Tauriel had been looking at you.

“What?” You asked with a smile.

Tauriel shook her head. “I have never seen clothes such as those in all my many years,”

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “I could say the same to you, Tauriel,”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Tauriel’s lips, but at soon as it was there, it was gone.


	3. Thranduil’s Pretty Fucking Scary

Eventually, you came to your destination. You all went across a bridge over a powerful river that roared by a huge gate cut into the side of a massive rock, supported by pillars with elegant designs carved into them, and a pair of armored guards flanking a massive door, who opened it upon your approach. You stared in awe.

You entered, and upon stepping inside, you gazed about in wonder at the massive interior of the fortress. Golden lamps illuminated a network of bridges and staircases, with cascading waterfalls and streams rushing past moss-covered stones. Columns supported the natural cavern ceiling above.

Behind you, the gate shut with a thunderous boom. “I will take you to see the King,” Tauriel explained.

You nodded in understanding at the news. Tauriel led you over bridges and up and down various stairs. You didn't mind one bit, seeing how it allowed you to take in as much of the scenery around you as possible.

“Tauriel?” You asked her as you walked. “Where exactly are we?”

Tauriel gave you a look of disbelief. “We are in the Elven kingdom of Mirkwood,”

“Elven?” You repeated. “So... are you all elves, I’m guessing? I’ve heard of elves before, but only the kind that worked in Santa’s Workshop, or made cookies in a tree,”

Tauriel was dumbfounded. She shook her head as she continued to walk ahead of you.

The tour came to an end; you stopped before turning a corner inside a tunnel, and Tauriel instructed one of the guards posted outside the great oaken doors to move on ahead. You could only assume that he was the messenger, sent to announce your arrival.

You both stood waiting for some time, silence pervading in the air, until at last the messenger elf arrived to let you to move on. You and Tauriel walked in together. After another good long while, you finally arrived at a place elevated above the ground, where a throne made of seemingly woven branches stood, crowned with the skull of an elk with massive antlers. The Elven King sat below it, with a crown of branches and autumn leaves on a head of flowing silver-blonde hair, and icy blue eyes that looked down at everything below like a hawk.

“I am told that you are called (Y/N) (L/N), am I correct?” His icy and smooth voice put you on edge as his gaze made you squirm.

“Yes,” You managed to squeeze out. God, this guy was terrifying.

“Why are you here?” The King asked cooly.

“Your Majesty,” Tauriel spoke for you. “She said that it was _this_ that sent her here,”

The Elven woman held out the dull gem for Thranduil to see. You could see his eyes growing wide as soon as he caught sight of it.

“The Star Emerald...” He whispered.

“The what-what?” You asked in confusion.

“Where did you find it?” Thranduil demanded to know.

“T-there was a loud noise outside my house,” You stuttered, afraid of what the King might do if you didn’t answer. “I went outside to see what it was, and I found it in my front lawn. I touched it, and I blacked out. I woke up in the forest,”

You almost cringed to yourself. Your story sounded ridiculous! You wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t believe you. You’re dead. You are so fucking dead. The King wasn’t gonna believe you, and you were gonna be locked up in the dungeon or something, and you were gonna go insane over the years because you’ve been in a dark and dirty fucking place for so long oh god you weren’t ready to live that way please somebody come help this guy is fucking terrifying oh god oh god oh god oh god—

Thranduil nodded his head slowly. “I believe you,”

You snapped your head upwards. “You what?”

“I believe you,” Thranduil repeated. “The gemstone that you found outside your home, is The Star Emerald. It was found in the mines of Erebor,”

You tilted your head, confused at his words. Tauriel piped up and explained: “Erebor was the crown jewel of the dwarf kingdoms. They had immeasurable amounts of gold and jewels dug up from the mines,” Tauriel knew that this wasn’t the best description, but it got the point across, and you seemed to understand.

Thranduil continued. “It is said that The Star Emerald holds the power to open the bridge between worlds, and allow one free passage between them,”

Your eyes widened. “So... that’s what happened when I touched it? It teleported me here?”

“So it would seem...” Thranduil said. “However... legend says that once used, it will not function for another 8 months,”

Your jaw dropped. “8 months?” You exclaimed. “I’m stuck here for 8 damn months!?”

Thranduil seemed amused by your little outburst. “Indeed. But do not distress, human,” He reassured you. “Everything we know about the Star Emerald, is written in this text...” He began to recite a piece of text he had seemed to have memorized.

_“When the moment comes when the Star is used, many months must it wait for its power to be reused. When the moon is high on the 243rd day, The Star’s weakness shall be put at bay. But be warned, if the Star shall ever break, the one that holds it, you shall never wake. Only the power of what you most hunger, can save you from your terrible slumber,”_

After a moment of silence filled the air, you decided to break it.

“243 days, huh?” You joked. “That’s right on the nose, isn’t it?”

“It was written by dwarves,” Tauriel huffed. “What do you expect?”

“If you wish,” The King spoke again. “You may stay until the time is right for you to return to your realm,”

“Thank you...” You didn’t quite know how to address this person. “... Your... Royalness...” You mentally scolded yourself at your clumsiness with your words. You tried to make it better by trying to bow, but it just looked awkward and forced.

“I shall have Tauriel accompany you," Thranduil said before concluding your audience. "You must excuse me now, (Y/N). There are some matters I must attend to,” He turned his attention at Tauriel, “Tauriel, take (Y/N) to our guest chambers,” He said. “Ensure her every need is met,”

“Yes, my Lord,” Tauriel bowed respectfully to the King. You followed the elf from the throne room. The two of you descended down the stairs.

As you walked down the long flight of stairs, you noticed that whenever guards would pass you, they nodded their heads towards Tauriel, who would do the same in return.

“It seems like you’re well respected here,” You observed.

“Yes,” Tauriel said. “I am the captain of the guard,”

Fuck. Just when you thought that Tauriel couldn’t get any better. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was a soldier too? Not only a soldier, but the _leader_. You then again noticed her scent of pine needles and fresh water.

_‘Dear God, (Y/N). Why are you smelling this woman again? It’s weird, stop it,’_

Soon, Tauriel escorted you to the guest chambers. Your spacious wooden room had ornate furniture and tapestries creating a comfortable feel. The room also led out onto a small balcony overseeing the grand Elven Fortress.

“I trust that you will find this satisfactory?” Tauriel asked you.

You nodded. “Yes. Thank you,”

When Tauriel was about to leave, you noticed that on a chest of drawers some towels, a comb, a scrubbing brush, soap and some jars had been placed. You went over to them.

“What are these?” You asked, pointing at the jars. There were three of them.

Tauriel seemed a little annoyed that you didn’t know what they were, but she went over to you anyways. She picked up the first, the smallest of the three. She pulled the cork out of the neck and offered it to you, and you sniffed. It was lavender. Lavender oil.

“It’s for the bath,” Tauriel explained.

“And the other two?” You asked, indicating them.

“For your hair,” Tauriel explained.

You nodded your head. “Ah, so it’s shampoo and conditioner,”

There was one item which puzzled you, though. It looked like a twig. One end had been cut, the bark or outer layer stripped away to the length of half an inch, and then the 'inside' of the twig frayed almost like a brush. You sniffed at it. It was scented. Spicy. Like nutmeg or cinnamon. You looked quizzically at Tauriel and held it up to her.

“What is this?”

“For your teeth,” Tauriel explained, “Surely you have such necessities in your realm?”

“Oh yeah,” You said, “They just don’t look anything like this,”

Before Tauriel could leave, you spoke again. “Thank you, by the way,” You put your hands in your pockets as you felt a blush form. “You know... for killing those spiders,” You smiled lopsidedly, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come along,”

Tauriel didn’t seem to answer right away, but she looked at you, a little surprised. “Oh! You’re welcome,”

You grabbed a jar of shampoo off of the counter. “And thanks for telling me what all this was,” You smiled lopsidedly again. “Sorry if I was bothering you,”

“N-no, no,” Tauriel assured you. “It’s alright,”

You smiled at her, before going to unscrew the cap off of the jar. It didn’t budge. You furrowed your eyebrows and tried again. Nothing. You huffed as you straightened yourself out and readjusted your grip.

Tauriel chuckled at you before offering her hand. “Need help with that?”

You sighed. “Yes,” You admitted your defeat as you handed the jar over to the elf.

To your embarrassment, Tauriel popped off the lid without breaking a sweat. She handed the open jar back to you.

“Oh... so you’re supposed to... pop it off... not twist it off...” You muttered to yourself as you blushed in embarrassment.

“There will be chambermaids to bring you new clothes, and to take the ones you are wearing,” Tauriel mentioned. “They will wash them for you,”

You nodded. “Thank you, Tauriel,”

Tauriel touched your shoulder and nodded as she smiled. Whatever you were going to say died on your lips as the elf made contact with you. Even just a friendly shoulder clasp, was enough to make your heart flutter. Whatever Tauriel said, didn’t even make contact with your brain as she left the room. As she closed the door, you watched her immaculate, long auburn red hair sway as she walked. You felt a familiar coil pulling deep in your pelvis... one you hadn’t felt this deeply in a while, now that you thought about it...

To distract yourself from your thoughts, you turned towards the counter, looking at the rest of the soaps and towels. The soap was scented with rose as far as you could tell, and the shampoo, as well as conditioner, smelt of sweet herbs and honey. They smelt much better than the kind back home.

Even though you just took a shower back home, you had some dirt on your skin from your chase in the woods. You undressed and sank into the warm water in the Jacuzzi-like bathtub with a sigh. You felt a sense of relief. You let your head rest against the back of the tub as your cuts and bruises soak and you hummed pleasantly. You rubbed off all of the dirt on your face and body, and washed your body and your face with the rose-scented soap.

You had vaguely noticed the handmaidens coming into the room. When their presence finally connected to your brain, you made sure to thank them before they left. They had taken your clothes from home, and replaced them with a light blue dress. You weren’t particularly a big fan of dresses, but it would be fine for now.

A little later, you had dried yourself off, and got dressed. You admired the dress, a pale blue, in the light of the candles and lanterns ranged round the room. The slippers were made of brown suede or something similar. The dress fitted you very well, which surprised you greatly.

You towel dried your wet hair and combed it, delighted at how easily the comb slipped through your tresses now you had conditioned it. As you brushed your hair, you sang _‘We’re in the money’_ over and over again because you couldn’t remember the rest of the words to the song.

As you dried off your face you noticed something. The blemishes on your face has lessened greatly. You smiled to yourself.

“Well, that’s to be expected,” You talked to yourself. “Everyone here looks like a damn model. If I keep using their products, won’t be long before I do too,” You scoffed at your own words. “Wishful thinking, (Y/N),”

It wasn’t long before you crawled into your spacious bed, exhausted from today’s activities. Sleep visited your eyes very easily as your head hit the soft pillow.

~~~~~~~~

“So,” A deep voice echoed through the black and shadowed halls as a hand released itself from a small blue light, “The Star Emerald is here...”

The figure dressed in a dark cloak stepped out of the dimly lit room.

“A woman not of this world, who possess a powerful magic gem she does not understand. How foolish Thranduil is to think he can keep her safe,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know the rhyme is lame, but I got lazy


	4. Awkwardness In The Wine Cellar

Tauriel was leading her daily patrol that morning, finding nothing out of the ordinary. But then they heard a shriek, and a call for help. In only a few moments, the patrol had managed to kill the giant spiders that had caused the call for help.

The woman that had called for help had Tauriel intrigued. She wore the strangest clothes, and her overshirt was a deep red color that only a King would be able wear. With her elf vision, she saw that she had a bright blue bracelet around her wrist. The girl was terrified as she held her hands up in surrender. Tauriel knew that she wasn’t a threat, and ordered her men to stand down.

She had learned that the woman’s name was (Y/N) (L/N), and that she possessed The Star Emerald itself. When she escorted you back to the fortress, something rustled the trees above, and you let out a yelp and clutched her arm. You seemed genuinely scared, as if you had never experienced being in a forest before. It was kind of cute...

_Tauriel!_

Her inner self had resorted to using the rough tone she reserved for those who stepped out of line.

When she was escorting you, she couldn’t help but look at your (h/l) hair. It had a very unique style that she had never seen before, but you made it look quite appealing. Even though Tauriel knew that you weren’t from around here, she was still surprised that you didn’t know what elves were, or what Mirkwood was. She also found it quite amusing when you attempted to act formal and bow to the King.

When you asked what the jars of oils and soaps were, Tauriel was a little annoyed at first, but she quickly got over it when you thanked her for her assistance with the spiders earlier. The way you stuffed your hands in your pockets and gave a lopsided smile, was the cutest thing she had ever seen a human do. She almost didn’t respond to your words, too lost in your smile.

You attempted to open the jar of shampoo, but couldn’t get it open. Tauriel watched in wonder as you grew frustrated for the first time since you’ve met. You huffed in the cutest way possible. It was amusing, because one would simply have to pop off the lid, and not twist it off like you were trying to do. It made her wonder what the shampoo and conditioner in your realm was like.

When Tauriel left the room, she felt a little saddened. She enjoyed your company. But she knew that you needed to wash up. You had some dirt and scrapes on your face from your scuffle earlier.

A few hours later, the elf had come back into your room quietly to check to see how you were doing. But she found you in your bed already fast asleep. You looked much cleaner, and the blemishes on your face had lessened greatly. Elven soaps had that effect, and cleared any blemishes on one’s skin permanently in a matter of days.

She walked up to you, and put the blanket, which had fallen off of your shoulder, back onto you. Her breath caught in her throat when you stirred, but she relaxed when you didn’t wake up. You turned on your side, facing the elf. Your blue nightdress, Tauriel noticed, hugged your figure quite well. Her eyes traveled downwards, looking at your prominent collarbones and exposed cleavage, that was just barely peeking out from the top of the dress and —

Tauriel stopped that train of thought immediately. How could she think of a woman she had just met that way? She snatched her hand away from you as if you were going to wake up and bite her hand off. You looked so peaceful and beautiful lying there with your hands tucked under your head.

She left as quickly and as quietly as possible, trying to not wake you up. She had left to attend to her nightly duties, but the entire time, she couldn’t get the thought of the human she had just met out of her head. She cursed that stupidly cute lopsided smile of yours, and your sparkling (e/c) eyes. It went on like this until morning.

~~~~~~~~

You stirred in your bed, feeling the sunlight from the window shine on you. As you opened your eyes at last you were confused. Then you panicked and closed them again with an expletive.

Where were you!? You had not got drunk again and ended up at David’s place again! God, you hoped not! If David had to take you home, then that would mean that you were so drunk, he was the one looking after you. David. The most irresponsible man alive, was looking after you. That would be very embarrassing. What did you do this time?

You groaned as you realized it would entirely depend on how drunk you got.

You opened one eye again. Definitely not your room. But definitely not David’s room, either.

Then, as you saw the murals, took in the washing bowl and jug, the elven dresses you had hung over the back of a chair, it all came flooding back. It wasn't a dream. You shuddered as you remembered the horrors of the forest, and the enormous spiders that had almost killed you. You would be dead if it wasn’t for...

Tauriel...

You smiled to yourself as you felt warm inside. That elf... that ridiculously gorgeous elf... ugh. You didn’t even know her that well, but you already thought highly of her.

You got yourself out of bed, throwing our legs out over the bed, stretching your arms out with a big yawn. You got up, and washed your face with the rose-scented soap, and brushed your hair easily with a comb.

You put on the blue dress the elves had given you, you clasped on your blue bracelet from home around your wrist, and you walked out of your room, shutting the door behind you. You descended down the stairs. As you made it to the bottom, you noticed something. There was barely anyone in the room. Everyone you had seen looked like they were in a hurry to be somewhere.

After a little bit of wandering, you came across a room that filled you with excitement. A small room filled with the fanciest instruments you have ever seen. There were flutes and harps, all carved with intricate designs. There was something that resembled a piano, with very detailed carving on the pale legs. There were several more instruments you did not recognize, but there was one, that caught your eye.

A violin! You hadn’t played for a while, and you were in need of some practice. You grabbed the small instrument, plucking the E, A, D, and G strings respectively. To your delight, they were all perfectly in tune. You grabbed the bow, rubbing it on some rosin. You got into position, and began to play.

~~~~~~~~

Tauriel wanted to wait until morning in order to speak with you. She wanted you to have plenty of rest, after everything you’ve been through yesterday. She felt bad for you. You were thrust into a completely foreign world completely unknown to you, with totally different customs.

She checked to see if you were awake, but was surprised to find out that you had already left your chambers. She walked down the stairs, looking for you, until her Elven hearing picked up a faint sound. It sounded like... music... fast fiddle music.

Tauriel’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The musicians didn’t usually practice this early in the morning, much less play that kind of music. Now that she thought about it, she had never heard that style of fiddle music.

The elf followed the tune to the door to the storage room for Mirkwood’s instruments. She opened the door slightly, and her eyes widened at what she saw. It was you, playing the fiddle so fast she thought your fingers would break. It seemed like you were playing the difficult sounding song with ease. She wondered how many years of practice it took for anyone to get this good at playing the fiddle.

As you ended the song with one final bow stroke, Tauriel made her presence known.

“That was amazing...” She breathed.

“Oh!” You exclaimed with surprise as you turned around. “I’m sorry... I know I’m probably not allowed in here...”

“No, no, no,” Tauriel assured you. “It’s quite alright...”

You put down the instrument and the bow back where you had found them.

“How did you learn to play like that?” Tauriel asked with amazement. “That’s some of the finest playing I’ve ever heard!”

She noticed your blush as you tucked a small strand of hair behind your ear. “Oh, t-that’s nothing...” You stuttered. “You should hear Fey play the Cello,”

“Fey?” Tauriel asked.

“Fey is my roommate back home,” You explained. “They’re an amazing musician,”

“They?” Tauriel had never heard of someone refer to one person that way.

“Well, Fey is non-binary,” You explained. “It means they’re neither male of female,” You knew that this wasn’t a very detailed description, but it was short and simple, and it seemed to get the point across.

“Interesting...” Tauriel said. “There’s nothing like that here in this realm,”

You nodded, not quite knowing how to carry on the conversation.

“How fare you, (Y/N)?” Tauriel asked.

“Better now that you’re here,” You said with a blush. You tried to put your hands in your pockets out of habit, but forgot that the dress you wore didn’t have any. So instead, you just put your hands behind your back, shrugging your shoulders and giving a smile.

Tauriel watched as you gave her another one of your lopsided smiles.

_She’s so cute._

“Tauriel...” You said. “I was wondering if you could show me around. If that’s okay,” You added quickly, not wanting to keep her from anything she might have to do.

She looked at you when a thought hits her mind once again.

_Oh... I’m supposed to be answering (Y/N)’s question... have I been staring for too long??_

“Uh, of course,” She said.

“You sure?” You asked. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything...”

“No, no it’s alright!” Tauriel reassured you. “I’d be more than happy to show you around!”

You smiled brightly. “Thanks!”

Tauriel couldn’t help but admire your smile once again. When you came closer, she noticed your scent of rose and lavender.

She gave you a complete tour of the fortress. You were particularly good at remembering where places were, and you knew that in a couple of days you would know where almost everything was.

As you walked downstairs towards the wine cellar, you accidentally stepped on the hem of your long dress.

“Oh!” You exclaimed as you tripped. You grabbed ahold of Tauriel’s arm to stop you from falling down the wooden stairs. As you got close to her, you took in her scent of fresh water and pine needles.

_‘(Y/N)! Stop doing that! It’s weird!’_

Tauriel was surprised when you let out a gasp and grabbed onto her arm. “Are you alright?” She asked.

You nodded. “Yeah... I just stepped on my dress. I’m sorry,”

Tauriel smiled at you. “There’s nothing to apologize for, (Y/N),”

When the two of you walked along, Tauriel couldn’t get the sound you made out of her mind. You were really going to have to stop gasping semi-sexually like that for the sake of her own health.

“Jesus,” You said as you looked at all the barrels of wine. You ran your index finger across the wooden lid. “How high of an alcohol tolerance do you guys have?”

“The highest in Middle Earth,” Tauriel smiled.

“Wow,” You chuckled. “Last time I drank, I was so drunk I slept at my Ex’s house,” You chuckled once again, shaking your head. “Man, that was a big mistake,”

“Your ‘ex?’” Tauriel asked. Until now, she had never heard of such a term before.

“Oh, yeah. Me and his other girl,” You explained. “We used to be a couple... but...” You hesitated for a moment. “C-complications came up... and I just had to leave her,” You sighed and continued on with your story. “One night, I got so blackout drunk that I thought it would be a good idea to go to her place. We slept together, and...” You sighed again. “It was the worst thing I think I’d ever done. Ever,”

“Oh, (Y/N)...” Tauriel said as she put a hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry that that happened...”

You shook your head and seemed to brush it off. “It happened many years ago, Tauriel. I don’t have to worry about her anymore... and that’s a good thing too,” You added with a smile.

Tauriel smiled. “Indeed,” She admired the way you had managed to see the bright side of a dark situation.

“Well, enough of me,” You joked. “Le-”

You were so caught up in Tauriel’s eyes that you didn’t take note of the puddle of cold water on the polished hardwood floor behind you. You took a step backwards, stepping into the puddle of water, knocking you off balance, cutting your sentence off short. You flew backwards with a yell, attempting to grab for the door frame but instead, your desperate hands accidentally grabbed Tauriel by the waist.

You both landed on the wooden floor with a grunt. You soon realized that Tauriel was indeed on top of you, straddling your waist. Tauriel’s mouth gaped in surprise. Her lips curled into a smile as she laughed. The absurdity of the situation combined with Tauriel’s laugh made you chuckle as well. It was then that you felt Tauriel grind her pelvis into you.

You stopped laughing. You involuntarily let out a small gasp. Holy. Shit. Was that on purpose? You felt a familiar coil pulling deep in your pelvis...

Tauriel flushed to the tips of her ears. She had tried to stay still, but her body had other plans, it seemed, and suddenly she felt her hips push into you, seeking friction of some sort.

Tauriel scrambled off of you, still on the ground on her knees as you propped yourself on your elbows. You had no idea what had happened, and you didn’t know what to make of it.

“T-Tauriel...” You stuttered as you blushed.

It was then, that a large bell rang in the distance.

“What’s that?” You ask as you get up.

Tauriel did the same. “That’s the meal bell,” She explained.

“Time for breakfast, then?” You asked.

‘ _Talk about saved by the bell,’_ You thought to yourself.

Tauriel walked you to the dining hall for breakfast leaving the wine cellar behind. The entire walk there was filled with awkward silence. Tauriel couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. When she was on top of you, the feeling of your hip bones digging into her, and she felt a pull in her lower belly that she had never felt before at all.

The blush she felt grew even deeper the more she thought about it. She couldn’t even look at you directly in the eyes, too full of shame and embarrassment to do so.

You felt the same way. You felt guilty for putting Tauriel in that situation. Even though it was an accident, you still felt bad.

You both reached the dining hall, filled with Mirkwood elves sitting at long tables. They were eating, drinking and chatting with one another.

“So... uh...” You rubbed the back of your neck nervously. “I’ll... see you later...”

Tauriel nodded. “Yes...” She didn’t know what else to say after that.

The two of you parted ways. On the table, there were various platters of fruit, and oats. You were surprised to see some meat on the table as well. You helped yourself to an apple, some grapes, and some oats. You sat down at the long table.

Everywhere you looked there were gorgeous features, high cheekbones, grey or grey-green eyes, and long flowing hair. The men had broad shoulders, and were lithe and strong. The women were utterly stunning in a way that made your breath stop. You felt very small, desperately unattractive and rather useless sitting amongst them all.

You looked up to see Tauriel on the other side of the room at another table. She brought her cup to her lips as she shot her eyes downwards, avoiding your gaze with a blush of embarrassment.

From this entire experience, you concluded... yep you were definitely gay.


	5. Your New Best Friend Named Edol

A black clouded form floated above a hooded figure on a raised walkway.

“You are certain that this (Y/N) girl you speak of has it?” The black clouded figure asked in a raspy voice.

The hooded figure bowed his head. “Yes, Lord Sauron,” He assured him. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. This woman from the realm called ‘Earth’ has The Star Emerald,”

The clouded figure grew darker. “Finally. I will spread Morgoth’s darkness throughout all the realms,” His voice sounded like a snake’s hiss. “Once I have The Star Emerald, you will have every realm at your fingertips,”

The hooded figure smirked under his hood. “Yes, my Lord,”

“Do not fail me, Kulkodar,” Sauron’s clouded form disappeared with his words.

Kulkodar stood up, turned and left. As he walked, the he smirked under his hood. “Finally,” He grinned. “I will bring balance to all,”

~~~~~~~~

Three days have passed since you first arrived here. Mirkwood is supposed to be sort of a second home for the time being. Whenever that may be. Honestly, there really wasn’t any choice, being lost here. But it wasn’t all bad. There were plenty of instruments to keep you busy practicing. And Tauriel... the incident you had with her two days ago still made you flush to the tips of your ears.

You remembered Tauriel’s warmth had radiated from her lower body and into the same parts of you. There were no gaps between you two, making you painfully aware of the way she fit perfectly against you. You haven’t talked to her since the incident. You wanted to apologize, but you couldn’t find her.

You walked aimlessly down the hallways. This morning, you had thrown on whatever clothes you could find. You put on a light blue Elven dress, your black Vans, and your red flannel over the blue dress. No piece of clothing matched each other, but fuck it.

The Elven soap you have been given worked wonders on your skin. Within three days, all the blemishes on your face have disappeared completely. Your skin was cleared and completely hydrated, and you felt great.

As you walked down the hallways aimlessly, you bumped into someone with a grunt.

“Oh, God!” You said. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going!”

“It’s quite alright,” The elf replied.

The elf in front of you had long wavy black hair, and icy blue eyes. His skin was so pale you would have mistaken him for a vampire. Despite his pale complexion, he was still just as beautiful as all of the other elves in Mirkwood.

“You’re the human called (Y/N), correct?”

You nodded your head. “Yes. And you are?”

“I’m called Edol,” The elf answered. “I must say...” He took your wrist gently, and inspected your flannel sleeve. “Your clothes have the most even and perfect stitching I have ever seen in my life,”

“Thank you,” You bowed you head in thanks. “The others won’t mind me wearing them now, would they?”

“I see no reason for them not to be,” Edol said. “They are, after all, yours and you deserve to be comfortable during your stay here,”

You smiled. “Aww, thanks,” You blushed. You couldn’t help but blush when anyone was being nice to you.

He is now inches away from you and with his next sentence.

“I must say...” Edol said. “...that dress looks wonderful on you,”

His eyes roam across your body as you try to read his expression. You felt yourself blush.

“The elves say that humans are incapable of bearing such beauty,” He said. “But you appear to be an exception,”

Your face is enflamed, your eyes downcast. Never have you ever received such a compliment. Noticing your awkward manner, he lets out a chuckle before continuing.

“Well, (Y/N),” Edol said. “I have business to attend to, but I hope to see you around soon,”

“S-same goes to you... Edol,” You blushed again as you tucked in a strand of hair behind your ear.

As the two of you parted ways, you were unaware of another pair of eyes watching. Tauriel went to go see you, to apologize for the incident a couple of days ago. She hadn’t talked to you for a while, worried that you didn’t want to see her. But today, she was going to talk to you. But then she saw you with Edol, and when she saw you blush, she felt her chest tighten painfully.

Tauriel didn’t know why, but she felt a pang of jealousy when she saw you with Edol. The elf was handsome, no doubt, and she didn’t blame you if you thought Edol more attractive than herself. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Tauriel yelped in surprise as she jumped. As she yelled, she heard another scream next to her.

“I’m sorry, Tauriel!” You laughed. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

Tauriel smiled as she recovered from her slight fright. “It’s quite alright, (Y/N),”

“Look, Tauriel...” You looked nervous. You fiddled with your blue bracelet, the moon charm jingling as you did so. “I’m sorry about before...”

Tauriel, seeing how upset you were, grabbed you by the arms gently and looked you dead in the eyes. “You don’t have to be sorry about anything, (Y/N). No harm was done,”

“Then why didn’t you talk to me?”

“I...” Tauriel swallowed. “I was afraid that you didn’t want to see me after what happened,”

“Tauriel...” You took her hand. “Of course I wanted to talk to you. And I’m sorry that I made you feel like I didn’t,”

Tauriel smiled. “Thank you,”

You gave her another lopsided smile, “Come here,”

Without warning, you pulled Tauriel into a tight hug. The elf was surprised, but she smiled and wrapped her arms around you, her head resting on the top of your head.

The two of you parted. “Besides...” You said as you poked Tauriel’s chest, “You’re fun to hang out with,”

Tauriel had looked down at your finger, which you then flicked up to hit her nose gently. Tauriel looked at you in surprise. You giggled, which made her laugh as well.

You looked into Tauriel’s emerald green eyes. You loved that color green. It reminded you of the green grass, or the green of pine needles. But you knew no matter how far you searched, there would be no way to match the vibrancy of green emanating from Tauriel’s eyes.

“Tauriel!”

A male voice interrupted your moment. A male elf with long silver blonde hair stepped up. He had icy blue eyes, similar to Thranduil’s, but they were more gentle than the Elven King’s.

“Tauriel,” The elf said. “Lord Thranduil demands your presence,”

Tauriel bowed her head. “Yes, Legolas,”

As the blonde elf walked away, you raised an eyebrow.

“Who exactly was that?” You were surprised by his sudden introduction and his exit.

“That is Legolas Greenleaf,” Tauriel explained. “He is the son of Lord Thranduil, and my very good friend,”

You smirked. “So he’s a prince, huh?” The two of you began to walk towards the King’s throne room. You folded your arms as you walked. “Does he get a big head because of it?”

Tauriel laughed. “No, not at all! He was the first friend I made when I arrived here,”

“Arrived?” You asked.

Tauriel nodded. “I was orphaned at a young age,” She explained. “My parents were killed by Orcs in a raid,”

“Orcs?” You have heard about Orcs from one of the books from the library. “I’m sorry, Tauriel,”

The red-haired elf smiled. “It’s alright, (Y/N). She continued. “I was a ward of King Thranduil until I came of age. The Queen had been long dead when I arrived and it had been many years since there had been a young elf here,”

“Isn’t Legolas your age?” You asked. “He looks around your age,”

Tauriel laughed again, “No he had come of age long before I arrived. He is much older than me,” She laughed again at your facial expression. “It didn't keep me from following him around though, when I first got here,” She continued with another laugh. You smiled at the sound of it again. “That's how my weapons training started. Legolas had no idea how to keep a child entertained, so he taught me the skills he knew best,”

You chuckled. “I wonder what would have happened to me if my babysitter taught me how to fight at the age of two,”

Tauriel burst out a laugh. “That would be quite a sight, indeed,” She turned towards you as the two of you began to ascend up the wooden stairs towards the throne room. “How old are you, (Y/N)?”

“Uh, I’m 23,”

Tauriel laughed again. "Oh, but you are so young!"

You frowned at her.

“I mean no disrespect,” She said quickly. “I am over 600 years of age so 23 seems so long ago,”

“Wait, hold up,” You said. “You’re 600?!”

“Yes,”

You shook your head in disbelief. “I knew that elves could live for a long time, but not for that long!” You looked up at her. “And you’re one of the younger ones!”

Tauriel smiled in amusement at your shock. “Yes, elves do not die of age,”

“Wow,” You said as you gave a small smile. “Huh. The more you know,”

You figured that Tauriel must be around your age in elf years. Yeah, that sounds about right.

“How is your stay here, (Y/N)?”

“Oh, it’s awesome!” You said. “Everyone’s so nice to me!” You sighed wistfully. “Everything’s great,” You looked at Tauriel with the most joyful and innocent look she had ever witnessed. “I feel wonderful...”

After what seems like only a moment, the two of you were in front of the great oaken doors of the throne room.

“Until tomorrow, (Y/N),” Tauriel smiled at you.

Instead of an answer, you hugged her tightly once again. Tauriel felt herself blush as you leaned your head against her chest. She returned the hug, noticing the scent of lavender in your soft (h/c) hair once again.

To your surprise, Tauriel pulled you closer. You suppressed the urge to let out a gasp as she pressed you against her. You felt her toned, muscular body press onto your own soft figure.

You pulled apart from the hug. You looked up at Tauriel, who gently held you in her arms. You could feel yourself being pulled deeper into Tauriel’s green eyes finding it hard to collect your thoughts

Tauriel felt the falling sensation herself. She gently tucked in a strand of hair behind your ear, before gently running her index finger down your cheek.

“(Y/N)...”

Your hands came to rest just over the red-head’s heart. Tauriel leaned down towards your lips and —

The great oaken doors in front of you opened. You both jumped back as if a cold bucket of water had been thrown over the two of you.

“Captain Tauriel,” The elf who had opened the door was dressed in golden armor. He bowed to her and motioned for her to enter.

Tauriel looked at the elf, then back down at you. “Goodbye...” She said. She turned to walk towards the throne room, but then she turned back around to you. She quickly leaned down and placed a kiss on your right cheek. Your eyes widened in shock as your face turned a bright red. Tauriel smiled at you over her shoulder before entering the throne room, the doors shutting behind her.

Tauriel left you, mouth agape and barely breathing. You couldn’t ignore the way your veins roared and a rush of disappointment vented through you for a split second as Tauriel’s touch retreated from you. You darted you tongue across your bottom lip unconsciously as you thought more about Tauriel.

You smiled so wide, you thought that your face would split. You were nearly skipping down the stairs with joy and excitement. It was official. You had a massive crush on the captain of the guard.


	6. Freddie Mercury and Uno Make a Perfect Couple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of on crack, but whatever

One month since you arrived in Mirkwood. You had seven left.

You really liked it in the Elven kingdom. Everyone was kind to you, and you made a couple of friends. One of your closest friends, was Edol. Since your first meeting, he apologized for making you uncomfortable. You accepted his apology, and the two of you quickly became friends.

In Mirkwood, there was always something to do. Usually when you were bored, you would go into the library. But you would never ever go into the restricted section of course. The restricted section held books and knowledge that only Thranduil, and maybe Legolas could have access to.

There was one time where Edol tried to sneak off into the restricted section as the result of one of your dares. But he tripped on his own feet before he even got inside. You had never laughed so hard in all your life. You must’ve laughed for ten minutes at least. Whenever your laughter was beginning to cease, you would look up at Edol’s angry expression and it would start all over again.

The Elves never heard of such vulgar language from anyone, which is exactly why you said the things you did. They of course knew all of the words you said, but they never once considered using them. Edol never actually said any curse words you dropped before, but you seemed to have given him the inspiration for him to do so. His favorites at the moment were ‘shit’, ‘fuck’, ‘dammit’, and ‘bitch,’

Your crush on Tauriel only grew stronger the longer you stayed here. You knew that she had some interest in you too. But you weren’t sure if her feelings were as strong as yours. The most the two of you had ever done, were hugging and little pecks on the cheek. You wanted to do more, but Tauriel seemed hesitant to do so, which you were okay with. You also noticed that she would only do anything remotely romantic when no one was around to see. It was almost like she was afraid of something... but you just couldn’t figure out what...

You were dressed fully in your clothes from home. You wore your light gray v-neck t-shirt, white socks, black pants, black Vans, red flannel, and dark red hoodie with fuzz on the inside and white hoodie strings over the flannel.

They didn’t fit you as well as they did when you first came here. You had lost some weight since coming here, seeing that the Elves didn’t have any processed foods or junk food like back home. God you missed ice cream... You still weren’t as slim as the Elf women, but you were okay with that. You had always liked the softness to your body, and you were glad that it hadn’t gone away completely.

You gently pushed open the storage room for the Elven instruments. Your eyes fell on the large white piano with intricate carvings in it. You haven’t played the piano in about a year, but there was one song that you would always remember no matter what.

You sat down on the white piano bench while stretching out your fingers. You readied yourself as you took in a deep breath. You played a couple of chords, getting yourself familiar with the piano. You took a deep breath, and began to play and sing one of your favorite songs...

_I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things_

_We can do the tango just for two_

_I can serenade and gently play on your heart strings_

_Be your Valentino just for you_

Although there were no electric guitars or drums here with you, you had to play the accompaniment on the piano only. But it still played out beautifully.

Unbeknownst to you, Tauriel had heard your playing. She had just finished her duties for today, and was going back to her chambers to relax. She knew it was you the moment she heard the music, but she had never heard you play the piano before. She gently opened the door to the storage room as you sang the next verse.

_Ooh love, ooh lover boy_

_Ooh, hey boy_

_Set my alarm, turn on my charm_

_That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy_

You turned towards Tauriel, who had just walked in, and was approaching you. You kept on playing, and smiled at her as you put your hand over her heart.

_Ooh let me feel your heartbeat, grow faster, faster_

_Ooh can you feel my love heat,_

_Come on and sit on my hot-seat of love_

_And tell me how do you feel right after-all_

The elf leaned over the top of the piano, so that your faces were only inches apart. You smiled up at her as you continued to play and sing.

_I'd like for you and I to go romancing_

_Say the word, your wish is my command_

You winked at Tauriel as you sang the last line, which made her cheeks flush pink.

_Ooh love, ooh lover boy_

_Ooh, hey boy_

_Write my letter_

_Feel much better_

_And use my fancy patter on the telephone_

The tone of the song grew from energetic, to a slower and beautiful ballad.

_When I'm not with you_

_I think of you always_

_I miss you_

_When I'm not with you_

_Think of me always_

_Love you, love you_

Without warning, the tempo picked up again.

_Hey boy where do you get it from_

_Hey boy where did you go?_

_I learned my passion in the good old fashioned school of lover boys_

You began playing an energetic piano solo for a few moments. Tauriel couldn’t help but stare at you. She was mesmerized by how blissful and happy you looked while playing.

_Dining at the Ritz, we'll meet at nine_

_I will pay the bill, you taste the wine_

_Driving back in style, in my saloon will do quite nicely_

_Just take me back to yours that will be fine_

_Ooh love, ooh lover boy_

_Ooh, hey boy_

_Everything's all right_

_Just hold on tight_

_That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy_

You finished the song with two final strong notes, and with a big smile on your face.

“So?” You asked the elf. “What’d you think? Did you like it?”

“Liked it?” She gaped at you. “(Y/N), I loved it!” And then she wrapped her arms around your neck and almost tackled you in order to give you a fierce hug. You returned the hug, grateful that she liked it so much. You were still sitting on the bench, with Tauriel nearly straddling you as she hugged you.

The two of you faced each other, your faces only a centimeter away. “I should play the piano more often, huh?” You smiled.

Tauriel nodded. “I would like that,”

A sudden burst of confidence surged through you. You smirked at the elf in front of you. You reached out and gently touched her face with her index finger. She gasped, snapping her face up to yours, surprised by the touch. When she looked up, your faces were only separated by a centimeter of space. Tauriel’s breath caught in her throat, but she ignored it, instead intently focused on just your touch. She had never known how soft you were… how lovely you were...

You smiled as you stared into Tauriel’s eyes, enraptured in their wide green depths. Your head dipped down. She yelped in surprise when she felt lips kissing and nibbling on her long neck. For a moment she was held there in shock. She could feel you smirk into her neck as she let out a soft moan.

“(Y/N)...”

You had to surprise the urge to moan at her words. The way she said your name... it was the sweetest sound you ever heard. You wanted to hear it again.

Tauriel felt a strong pull in her lower abdomen. Something kept building inside of her but she wasn’t sure what. She felt like she was being pushed to the edge of a cliff but she wasn’t sure what lay below.

You felt the sensation as well as you bit your lip. Tauriel lifted your head up to bring her face closer to yours. You looked up at the elf, feeling her warm breath caressing your lips. Emotions were inhibiting your ability to think clearly, or even to think at all.

You wanted to lean forward, to give yourself what you longed for in all the world: just one kiss, just one! Your eyes became heavy lidded as you slowly lifted your head up as Tauriel lowered hers. Your lips hovered over each other’s. You could feel Tauriel’s warm breath on your skin and —

The doors to the room opened. Tauriel jumped back off of the bench and back to her feet as if a cold bucket of water had been thrown over her.

You looked over to your left to see who had opened the door. A huge smile on your face appeared when you saw who it was.

“Edol!” You greeted your friend as you stood up from the piano bench.

“(Y/N)!” The elf greeted you back. The two of you embraced before you pat him on the shoulder.

“How are you, you big ‘ol bastard?!” You said.

“I’m doing fine, you son of a bitch,” Edol smiled.

The two of you laughed at your exchange of words. Tauriel shook her head in disbelief. She found it so odd how the two of you used such offensive words for terms of endearment.

“Tauriel, I’m going to borrow (Y/N) for a little while,” Edol said. “Is that alright?”

“Uh... yes,” Tauriel nodded. “Yes, I do not mind,”

“Are you sure?” You asked, unsure if she really meant it.

Tauriel swallowed as she forced a small smile. “Yes, absolutely. (Y/N) you can spend your time with whomever you like,”

You smiled, “Okay, if you’re sure,”

As you and Edol left the room, Tauriel let her forced smile fall. She didn’t want you to leave, but she didn’t want to force you to be with her, either. She wanted you to make your own choices. She knew that you had interest in her, but she was doubtful that your feelings were as strong as hers...

~~~~~~~~

Tauriel walked down the hallways once again, on her way to her chambers. She didn’t move from her spot from the music room for about an hour. She was deep in thought. She was wondering if she should let her feelings for you grow, or if she should just cut them off. After all, you were returning to your own realm in only seven months now. She didn’t want to be left heartbroken when you left.

As she walked down the hallways, she sighed to herself. She wished that—

“YYEEAHHHHHH!”

The sudden and loud shout made Tauriel’s thoughts stop dead in their tracks. What in the world was that?! She went to the source of the shout, which lead her to your chambers. She cracked open the door, and peeked in.

She saw you, Edol, and to her surprise, Legolas, sitting in a circle on your large bed. You were all huddled around a stack of red, green, blue and yellow cards.

You smacked a single card down onto the pile. “YEAH! READ ‘EM AND **WEEP** , BOYS!”

Edol and Legolas began to laugh, amused by your use of words.

You stood up from the bed, your arms raised in victory. “UNO, BITCHES!”

“Uno?” Tauriel asked herself. What did that mean?

“Tauriel?” You asked, recognizing her voice.

Tauriel stepped into the room. “What are you playing?”

“Miss (Y/N) taught us this game called ‘Uno,’” Legolas explained. “It’s quite fun, actually,”

“Since I had a lot of free time,” You explained as you climbed back onto the bed. “I made some Uno cards out of paper and some paint,”

Tauriel joined in the circle, sitting on the bed next to you. She examined the cards you had made. They were the colors red, green, blue and yellow. A lot had numbers on them, but some had symbols.

“Here,” You said. You handed Tauriel a stack of 7 cards. “I’ll teach you how to play,”

The four of you spent about two more hours playing Uno. You were surprised at how fast Tauriel caught on to the game. You were even more surprised at how much the elves enjoyed the card game.

You were on your last game. A tie breaker between you and Tauriel. You both won 5 times, Legolas won 4 times, and Edol won 2 times.

You set down a blue 3 on the deck. “Uno!” You shouted. You had one more card, which was a blue five. You were confident you were going to win this game. Tauriel was in front of you. She had only one card as well. You knew that this game was sudden death.

Edol put down a card. Three yellow. Legolas put down a card. Three blue. Your heart jumped. You prayed that Tauriel didn’t have a three or a blue. But to your horror, she smirked at you, and put down her card. Your eyes widened.

A wild draw four.

Everyone howled with laughter as your jaw dropped in shock.

“Nooo!” You said through laughter. “Goddammit! I was so fucking close!”

Tauriel laughed. “I win!”

Edol chuckled. “It’s alright, (Y/N),”

He put his arm around you as you continued to laugh at your hilarious failure. Tauriel immediately stopped laughing. Edol was getting to close to you for her liking. She felt an almost painful twinge of jealousy and anger in her gut.

“That’s quite some game, (Y/N),” Legolas said as he put his cards down. “Is this a common game from your realm?”

You nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty popular. Me and my...” Your voice trailed off. You cleared your throat. “Me and my dad used to play it together,” You smiled at the memories. “Good times, man. Good times,”

Tauriel sensed sadness in you. Even though you covered it up with a smile, she still felt it. You missed your father, she knew that much. But there was also great pain in remembering your father, and she didn’t know why.

It was then something caught her eye. Your gray shirt was lifted up a little, revealing a little bit of your stomach. On your (s/c) skin, was a horrible looking scar. It looked like it came from a terrible burn. But the thing was, Tauriel didn’t know where it stopped. She couldn’t see the end of it. And that worried her. She was worried about what happened to you in your past, and she was worried about how much pain you were really hiding behind your beautiful smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy” by Queen


	7. Don’t Wear A Dress In A Pool

Two months since you arrived in Mirkwood. You had six left.

It was considered a good summers day. The sun had been pleasant in warming all of Mirkwood, though the steady breeze prevented it from becoming unbearably hot. You sat next to a turquoise pool with stone bedding that went around it in a perfect circle, your bare feet underneath the small waterfall that poured into the pool. Your mind was at peace. You wore a pale yellow dress, that had a deep v-neck. You hummed happily as the soft breeze ruffled your hair.

“Hello,”

You looked up to see a familiar face. You smiled brightly as Tauriel came to sit next to you. You were shocked to see Tauriel in a light green dress instead of her normal Captain uniform.

She stuck her feet into the water as well as she sighed blissfully. “It’s such a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

You smiled as you took in a breath of fresh air. “Yes it is,”

You let yourself lay your head upon Tauriel’s shoulder. Tauriel rubbed your shoulder. Tauriel, leaned in close. But then, something happened you did not expect. Her green eyes suddenly became heavy lidded as she did something you never would have suspected. She leant towards you and took in an audible deep breath as she took in your scent. You felt your (e/c) eyes widen in shock.

Suddenly, Tauriel closed whatever distance had been present between your bodies. You stiffened as you struggled not to make a strangled sound as Tauriel pressed her body against yours.

Soon, you relaxed and leaned into Tauriel once again, humming pleasantly. You felt so safe next to her, and you didn’t want to leave her. After a moment, a question popped into your head.

You stood up. Tauriel looked up to see you walking carefully along the pool’s stone edge, one foot in front of the other with your arms outstretched to the sides to keep yourself balanced.

“What are you doing, (Y/N)?” Tauriel asked as she stood up herself.

You shrugged as you made a vague ‘I don’t know’ sound. Tauriel laughed softly as you continued to walk along the poolside.

“Tauriel...” You looked at her as you continued to walk. “Are you okay with us?”

Tauriel erased an eyebrow. “I... I’m afraid I don’t understand the question (Y/N),”

“I mean...” You stopped walking and looked directly into her green eyes. “Are you okay with us being together? I mean... I know that you like me, and I like you too. But you seem really nervous when we’re together in front of others...”

Tauriel swallowed. “I...” She had no idea how to answer you.

“I mean, if you’re not ready for a relationship, I totally get it,” You said understandingly. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. Simple as that,”

Tauriel shook her head. “No, that’s not it,”

You looked up at her, confused. “Then what is it, then?”

“I’m... afraid...”

You immediately understood. Your face fell as the realization dawned on you. “Oh...”

Tauriel nodded. “I’m afraid of losing my position. I’ll lose the respect of everyone here... and...”

Seeing how upset she was, you grabbed Tauriel by her arms gently and looked her dead in the eyes. “It’s okay, Tauriel. I understand completely. We can go whatever pace you’re ready for,”

Tauriel smiled. She felt so grateful that you were so understanding of her.

“For now...” You said. “Let’s just be friends. Does that sound good?”

Tauriel thought for a moment, before nodding her head. “Yes, that sounds nice,”

The truth was, Tauriel didn’t like the idea at all. She knew that her feelings for you would dampen the friendship that you were trying to achieve. But at least you were still in her life.

Suddenly, you took a step backwards, stepping into the puddle of water on the smooth stone, knocking you off balance. You fell into the pool beside you with a great splash. Your head reached the surface with a gasp, and you found Tauriel laughing at your misfortune.

“I-It’s not f-f-funny,” You talked through your chattering teeth as you clutched your arms in an attempt to warm yourself up.

But Tauriel continued to laugh. “I’m sorry, (Y/N)!” She talked through her laughter.

Suddenly, you grabbed Tauriel’s left wrist. You pulled hard, making her laughter stop with a gasp as she was yanked forward. She crashed into the water, getting it everywhere. She gasped as you laughed.

“Who’s laughing now?” You teased as you stuck out your tongue playfully.

Tauriel’s wet red hair clung to her face as she sputtered water. You laughed as she gave you a playful angry expression. You glanced at her from the corner of your eye, and you splashed the water, sprinkling some water on Tauriel. As you laughed, you felt a splash of water hit your back and you turned around. Tauriel looked at you innocently cocking her eyebrow.

You brought your fists together, and slammed then down hard onto the water, sending a wave of water towards Tauriel. She shrieked as she held her hands out, laughing as you splashed her.

Tauriel smiled, briefly diving underwater and swimming further out in the pool. She surfaced about 5 feet away, grinning as she brushed her wet hair back.

You swam towards her, slamming your hands in the water once again and splashing her frantically.

Tauriel started gushing large amounts of water at you, and you squealed as you tried to fight back.

“Tauriel!” You shouted, a hint of a laugh entering your voice.

Tauriel suddenly grabbed your shoulders and shoved you beneath the water. You resurfaced, laughing as you brushed your wet hair back.

You rubbed your eyes from the water, trying to calm down from the excitement. You tried to catch your breath.

“That was fun,” You panted as you poked Tauriel’s chest.

Tauriel had looked down at your finger, which you then flicked up to hit her nose gently. Tauriel looked at you in surprise.

“Gotcha,” You giggled.

Tauriel smiled as she caught her breath as well. “Yes, it was fun,”

Eventually, the waves in the pool came to a slow and steady stop. You climbed out of the pool, your dress clinging to your body as you got out of the water. Tauriel followed you out, her dress having the same effect.

You peered back at Tauriel, shaking the excess water from your hands. As Tauriel wrung her hair out, it was then, at that exact moment, that an innate cognizance washed over you. Those brief instances when you know something is so true, you’re not sure why or how, but you know it to be real like a simple fact, like how the sky is blue, or water is wet.

It had just occurred to you how beautiful Tauriel actually was. It left you in total awe when Tauriel was genuinely having a good time. You wanted to make her this happy again, just to see that beautiful smile, or hear that melodious laugh of hers.

Your heart began to break, however. You remembered Tauriel’s request that you two will just remain friends. But you didn’t want that. You wanted to be with her. You wanted her to feel for you like you feel for her. You wanted to touch her, breathe her in, and be one with her.

You realized at that moment, that you were falling in love with Tauriel. And to your horror, you realized, you couldn’t stay with her in Mirkwood. You had to return home. A single tear fell out of your eye as you thought about going back, about leaving her...

~~~~~~~~

Kulkodar sat alone in the darkness, clutching his hands around a little blue light. The transparent image of an unknown realm slowly faded from the blue circle of light.

All those years searching, he was so close to having it. So close to bringing peace that all realms deserved.

Kulkodar slowly got up, the light fully extinguishing from his hand. He knew exactly what he needed to do now. All he needed to do, was wait until she came to him. It may take time, but he knew that she would be there.

He couldn’t help but feel a wave of pride wash over him as he continued to walk away, smiling to himself, knowing that he would finally be able to have everything he had ever wanted.


	8. A Very Long Fucking Day

_“Please! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”_

_“_ _Do not interrupt me!”_

_She let out a whimper. “I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to break your rule. I know you said to never do it, I just—”_

_She is silenced with a quick strike across the face, dazing her. Her legs buckle and she falls to the floor with a meaty thump. Her legs curl in defensively as she whimpers._

_“I-I promise I’ll never do it again,” She sobbed, trying to back away from the one who struck her._

_The figure_ _looms over her crumpled form as she cowers in fear from its very presence._ _It_ _pins her firmly to the floor with its boot._

_She screams out as the hard boot digs into the middle of her back, “NO! PLEASE! DON’T—”_

_She is cut off as the boot digs into her back further. She cries out in pain as a crack is heard from her back._

_The figure smirks in satisfaction as she screams like that. Her eyes fill with panic and pain and a jolt of excitement runs down the figure’s spine. It dug the boot even further, reveling in the delicious scream that followed._

_She screamed in panic and pain as tears formed in her eyes._

_“PLEASE!” She sobbed in desperation. “PLEASE STOP! I’M SORRY, PLEASE JUST STOP!” As the boot made her spine crack, she screamed once more._

_“BRANDI!”_

~~~~~~~~

Screams echoed through the bedroom. You startled wide awake in a cold sweat, terror surging through your veins. You sat upright, blankets swathed around your shivering form. Your frantic breathing and rapid heart rate still didn’t slow down even as you realized you weren’t in the room in your dream.

You turned your head to your right, looking out the window. The evening sky was a deep blue and shone with the light of countless stars. It was as though somebody had taken an entire jar of silver glitter and tossed it up into the sky. It was slowly changing from dark blue to deep lavender. Over to the east, a pink hue slowly snuck up from behind a range of trees. Above, the glittering stars in the sky began to fade.

Three months since you had arrived in Mirkwood. You had five left.

The nightmare. The same fucking nightmare that plagued your mind ever since that whole fucking mess happened. But... you hadn’t had it in years. For it to come back this vivid was... you couldn’t even find the words to describe it.

You breathed heavily as you tried to calm down. Your heavy breathing dissolved into a violent coughing fit as you sucked in air a little too quickly. The coughing fit left you trembling as you collected yourself.

You got yourself out of bed, throwing our legs out over the bed. You got up, and washed your face hastily with the rose-scented soap, getting water all over the counter. You grabbed the corners of the counter, your head hanging down. Your face was still wet as some of your messy hair clung to it. You closed your eyes, trying to calm yourself.

“Come on, girl,” You whispered to yourself. “Get it together,”

You kept telling yourself that it was all in the past, but flashes of memory lanced through your head. You quickly dried off your face, and quickly left your room, not even bothering to brush your hair or get dressed in proper clothes.

You had to do something to distract yourself. You raced down to the instrument hall, ignoring the elves who tried to stop you and ask why you were in such a hurry. When you got to your destination, you saw the Elven musicians just beginning practice for today.

You lunged towards the nearest instrument you could find. The piano. You nearly shoved the pianist out of the way as you plopped down onto the bench. You could barley hear the pianist’s protests through your rapid heartbeat. You collected yourself the best you could, and began to play the first song that popped into your head.

[Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.](https://youtu.be/LdH1hSWGFGU)

You played the first two notes, and you calmed down a little bit. As you played, a crowd came, watching in wonder as you played the foreign song. One of the people in the crowd, was Tauriel. She always loved to watch you play, but this time, something was different. You looked more disheveled than usual, your hair a mess, dark bags under your eyes.

As the song began to speed up, your face twisted into one of concentration. You played faster than anyone thought possible. Your fingers flew left and right across the keys, until it was hard to catch up with what you were playing. The music was fast and harsh, but somehow you made it sound appealing.

The music slowed down for a moment, before dying off. Everyone thought that you were finished, but that was before you cracked your knuckles rather loudly. You shook your arms out, and took a deep breath before beginning to play once again.

Loud and fast music almost exploded from the piano as you played faster than ever before. You looked almost distressed as you played, but anyone could have mistaken it for extreme concentration.

You finished the song with the last three final notes, almost smacking the keys as you did so. You collapsed forwards onto the piano, breathing heavily. Everyone clapped as you finished your performance. You leaned back as you brushed your messy hair back with your fingers on your right hand. You looked relieved, almost like a huge weight had lifted off of your shoulders. You smiled tiredly at everyone who listened to you as you stood up, bowing slightly as they continued to applaud you.

You felt a strong hand clasp you on the shoulder.

“That was amazing!”

You smiled, recognizing the voice. You turned to face Edol. “Thanks, man,”

Edol returned the smile as the crowd you drew started to leave to return to their daily duties. You apologized to the pianist you shoved out of the way earlier, and he accepted, saying that hearing you play was enough of an apology.

Tauriel saw Edol wrap an arm around you, and felt another twang of jealousy. She knew that he was just being friendly, but there was something about him that just didn’t sit right with her. She did not trust him.

The red haired elf was about to go and talk to you, to tell you that you played amazingly on the piano and —

“Tauriel,”

She turned around, seeing Legolas speaking to her.

“Lord Thranduil is sending out another patrol,” The prince explained. “And you are to lead it,”

Tauriel looked behind her shoulder at you. You were laughing at something Edol just said. She looked at you longingly before sighing and turning back towards Legolas.

“Yes,” She said. “I will be there,”

Legolas guided Tauriel to the stairs and as they descended. You noticed out of the corner of your eye that Tauriel was leaving. As she walked away, she looked over her shoulder at you. You stared at Tauriel’s eyes, still locked on yours for as long as possible.

You sighed as she disappeared from your view. You knew that she had things to do, but it still saddened you to see her leave. Edol noticed you saddened expression.

“(Y/N),” He said. You looked up at him. He jutted his head to the side. “Come on, I want to show you something,”

He guided you away from the musicians, and down a wooden staircase you didn’t recognize. He led you into a room dimly lit by candlelight. It is truly beautiful and you stare at the wonderful carvings.

“I come in here all the time,” Edol broke the silence as he lit a candle in a bronze candleholder. “Not because it is away from everyone else... but because of this,”

He holds the candle up to the wall, illuminating the wall. Your eyes adjusted, and saw that he lit up an oil painting of a blonde male elf with stunning green eyes.

“That is Captain Adryan,” Edol said. “He was the very first Captain of the guard in Mirkwood!”

You looked to your right, and saw another painting next to Adryan’s. And then another next to that one. And another. And another. There was a whole line on the long wall of oil paintings.

“Every Captain of the guard has their portrait painted, and put in here,” Edol explained. He pointed to a portrait of a male elf with sleek black hair tied up behind his head.

“And that is Captain Layrin!” Edol smiled. “He lead the largest patrol against the spiders ever!”

You shivered at the memory of the spiders in the forest. “Yeah, good thing too,”

Edol ran up to another portrait a few paintings down with you following close behind. “And that’s Captain Moramen!” He pointed to another one. “Captain Loranun!” He pointed to another. “Captain Leymo,”

Edol turned back to you. “I’m going to be up there one day,” He looked back up at the portraits with a huge smile on his face. “My portrait is going to be up there forever, and I will be called Captain Edol,”

You smiled at him. “I hope you will,”

“I hope that you’ll see me become the Captain before you leave,” Edol said.

“Yeah...” You cast your eyes down as your face fell. “Before I... leave...”

Edol wrapped an arm around you. “Come on (Y/N). I have to go join the patrol. Let’s go back, hmm?”

You nodded slowly before forcing a smile. Edol grinned as well, before placing the still lit candle back on the table. He climbed the wooden stairs. You were about to follow him, but something stopped you. You wanted to see every painting of every Captain of the guard.

You grabbed the lit candle of of the table, and walked to the portraits on the wall. You lit up the portrait of Captain Adryan. His hard green eyes pierced your soul. He looked stern, but he had a certain gentleness to him. You went to the next one to the right. Captain Layrin. The next one you didn’t recognize. You read the inscription on the bottom of the picture frame. _Captain Mengwen,_ it said.

You read each and every inscription on every picture. One by one.

Captain Sumna. Captain Talmar. Captain Nyamen. Captain Gaendolin. Captain Haenolin. Captain Agneomo. Captain Larniono. Captain Searnaol. Captain Strajolin. Captain Esmalro. Captain Asamodo. Captain Deamanol.

Generation after generation for centuries each Captain has done something great until they were killed, or they retired. You reached the second to last painting. Captain Haendol, his name was. He didn’t look much different from the average elf. He had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face. In fact, the more you looked at the painting, the more plain it became.

You went to the last painting, and was met with a familiar face. Long immaculate auburn red hair, soft green eyes, pale skin and prominent cheekbones. You didn’t need to read the inscription to know who it was. Captain Tauriel.

Whoever painted Tauriel’s portrait, did excellent. They got every feature, and every detail exactly right. You couldn’t stop staring at the painting as you touched the face with your fingertips. You could feel every bump of the dried paint, and every stroke that the brush had made. Your fingertips hovered over the painted lips. You felt silly longing after Tauriel in the form of a painting, but you didn’t care.

You felt yourself blush as you remembered how you had kissed Tauriel’s neck as she straddled you on the piano bench during your first month here. You wanted to do it again...

You stopped. Your hand retracted away from the painting. You ran a hand over your face as you turned away from the portrait and groaned.

“What is wrong with me?” You asked yourself. You were going to leave in a few months. Five, to be exact. You can’t fall in love with someone, only to leave them and break their heart. That’s... wrong.

_‘What If you didn’t have to leave?’_ A voice in your head asked.

Your expression changed. You furrowed your eyebrows in thought. True, no one said that you _had_ to go back. But... what about your friends? Although there are few of them, they were still close to your heart.

Dimitri, Emmanuel, Ryan, David, and Fey. You owed them all, especially Fey, your life. They got you out of a hellish situation that would have most definitely killed you if they didn’t help. What would they do if you didn’t come home? Would they miss you? And if they knew where you were and why you left, would they understand?

Your eyes fell on Captain Haendol’s painting once again. Your eyebrows furrowed as your eyes fell on the corner of the painting. It was folded a little bit, and you could see another color of paint behind it. You pinched the folded corner Haendol‘s painting, and pulled slowly. The painting easily peeled off whole, not leaving any tears whatsoever. As the painting was almost fully off, you got a view of the picture underneath.

It was an older painting of a male elf. The paint was beginning to fade and peel He was different from the rest. His dark black hair was shorter than the other elves’ hair, and it only went down to his shoulders. His icy blue eyes, accented by his dark hair pierced your soul. He seemed fierce, but controlled.

You looked down at the bottom of the picture frame. The metal name plate said _Captain Haendol I_. You grabbed the corners of it, and with a grunt, you pulled it off. A name plate was underneath Haendol’s. It was hard to read, for it had rusted and faded over time.

“Nyrin?” You read out loud. Strange. This Nyrin guy didn’t have the title of Captain on his name plate like everyone else. And why was his picture covered up with another one?

You suddenly heard muffled commotion coming from upstairs. You gasped as you put Haendol’s painting back securely into the picture frame on top of Nyrin’s picture. You stuck the name plate back on top of the old one, and you blew out the candle and put it back on the table.

You climbed the stairs, and flung open the wooden door. You were greeted by the sound of loud and chaotic chatter. You didn’t know this, but the patrol that Tauriel had lead came back early. The entire palace was in upheaval at their arrival. When Tauriel and the others had entered the tower grounds, they were almost mobbed by the onslaught of elves wanting to know what had happened. It was then a voice rang out, cutting through the crowd like a blade.

“MOVE!” Came the thunderous voice of Lord Thranduil, and everyone parted to make way for him. The chatter has quieted down immensely as the Elven king made his way to the patrol.

Thranduil was about to ask why Tauriel was back early, but his question died on his lips when he caught sight of them. “Why...!” His words trailed off. “Oh,” He said bitterly. “I see,”

You finally shoved through the massive crowd. In the patrol’s custody, were thirteen very short people, all of them with beards and most with long hair. Dwarves, you guessed they were. You read about them in the library. Thranduil’s icy gaze fell on one dwarf in particular. They both stared at each other with much hatred and indignation.

“Tauriel,” The King commanded her. “Put all of them except for Oakenshield in the dungeons,”

Tauriel bowed. “Yes my Lord,” She turned and nodded to the other guards, who in turn, nodded back, and carried out the King’s order.

The dwarves all protested as they were pulled along towards the dungeons. You almost chuckled to yourself as an elf pulled a dagger out of a blonde dwarf’s jacket, and only a few seconds later, pulling out another one from his boot. The dwarf rolled his eyes in annoyance and exasperation as he was being taken away.

As the twelve were being taken away, the one called Oakenshield was being taken to Thranduil’s throne room. The crowd had soon slowly dissipated after that. The only one left, was you. You waited for Tauriel to come back from the dungeons.

After about ten minutes, the patrol came back from the dungeons. The last one to arrive, was Tauriel.

“Tauriel,” You came closer to her. “What happened?”

“We ran into a pack of spiders in the woods,” She explained. “We also found those dwarves lurking about, covered in spider webs,”

You gasped at the mention of spiders. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?" You asked as you inspected her for any sign of an injury.

Tauriel chuckled. “I’m quite alright, (Y/N),” She tried to be more energetic, but she felt tired in her very bones. It had been a long day.

You let out a sigh of relief. “Well that’s good,”

“(Y/N)...” She said suddenly. “Tonight, so happens to be _Mereth-en-Giliath_ , the Feast of Starlight." Tauriel paused before hinting, "It's an occasion of great importance to my people. I was wondering...”

“... if I wanted to go with you?” You finished for her.

Tauriel nodded. “Yes,” Her face grew grave. “But we have to be discreet, you hear me? If anyone finds out...”

You were surprised by her sudden seriousness, but you nodded. “I understand,” You said. “I’ll be careful,”

Tauriel smiled at you, her emerald green eyes sparkling as she did so, making your heart leap. “Thank you, (Y/N),”

“I look forward to it,” You said as you poked Tauriel’s chest.

Tauriel had looked down at your finger, which you then flicked up to hit her nose gently. Tauriel looked at you in mock annoyance.

“Gotcha again,” You giggled.

Soon, Tauriel had to depart to guard the dungeons. You felt as giddy as a child as you went back up to your chambers. You knew that no one could know, but you didn’t care. At least you could spend more time with her.


	9. A Slip Of The Tongue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Rape and homophobia

_Pain. Excruciating, burning pain is all she could feel. The restraints dug into her skin as she cried._

_“Please...” She whimpered. “Stop...”_

_The person in front of her grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. “You never get the whole picture. You never understand why this is necessary. You need to be taught a lesson,”_

_The person kissed her blood coated lips. “I’m doing this because I love you...”_

~~~~~~~~

You hummed happily to yourself as you fixed your (h/l) (h/c) hair into a fancy hairdo. Well... as fancy as you can make it anyways. You sighed happily as you looked at yourself in the mirror. Your dark blue dress had long and light sleeves. It was very thin, and very beautiful. It was quite simple, but you liked it anyways. You didn’t like anything too fancy. 

You were going to the Feast of Starlight with Tauriel. You could barely contain your excitement. Even though you were just going as “friends”, you still couldn’t help but look forward to it. The last party you went to... didn’t go so great. You still felt sick every time you thought about it.

You usually didn’t put on much makeup, but tonight you had some blue mascara, applied very sparingly, with some light blush and mascara. You didn’t want too much on your face right now.

You went to your desk, and grabbed a messily made stack of papers. You tapped the sides of them on the table in an attempt to straighten them out. It worked, but only a little bit. Settling for the pile you had, you walked out of your chambers, shutting the wooden door behind you as quietly as you could. Even from the top of the stairs, your could hear the elves getting ready for the party.

You descended down the stairs, papers in hand as you walked towards the main hall.

“(Y/N),”

You turned around at the mention of your name, and your heart stopped. Tauriel looked more beautiful now than she had ever before. Her hair was tied in an intricate braid, with a few locks of hair hanging down and framing her face. Her dark green and silver dress flowed behind her as she walked, and a silver necklace lay across her collarbones.

“H...Hi...” Is all you could manage to say. A paper slipped from your grasp and fell on the floor. You gasped and picked it up clumsily. “Oh, I’m sorry,” You gathered the papers to your chest and looked up at Tauriel again. “You look...” You struggled to find the words.

Tauriel giggled. “Thank you, (Y/N). You look nice as well,”

You snapped out of your phase. “I remember what you said earlier today,” You said. “Stay discreet, and look like we’re going out as friends and friends only or else bad stuff will happen,”

Tauriel nodded and smiled at your quick summary of the plan. “That’s right,” She walked towards you, and jutted her head to the side. “Come. Let us join the others, shall we?”

The two of you walked towards the long table where everyone was seated. You and Tauriel sat across from each other. You were seated next to Thranduil, who was sitting at the head of the table, and Tauriel was seated next to Legolas. Servants pulled back the chairs at the head of the table for the head of the table. You weren’t used to being treated this nicely. Ever.

The Feast of Starlight soon began. Thranduil commenced proceedings with some solemn words about the occasion's importance to the Wood-elves. He then led his guests in a series of toasts. That included a toast to Mirkwood’s special guest. You. You felt _very_ awkward about it to say the least. You had no idea what the hell he was saying.

Soon, dinner was served. An ensemble of Elven musicians played a gentle background melody. The meat was dressed in herbs before being roasted to perfection.

You took a sip of your wine. Holy shit. Your eyes widened as the back of your skull buzzed. This was about the best wine you had ever tasted. You had to be careful, because tonight you might die of alcohol poisoning with wine that fucking good.

Tauriel laughed slightly through her own glass of wine as she watched you gulp the drink. You finished it when the evening reached its climax.

The sail roof was pulled back revealing the night sky. You joined your hosts in simply taking in the heavens. You had never seen so many stars so clearly. Back home, everything was polluted, and no one could ever see the stars as clearly as you did now.

It was then an Elven soprano's voice sang clearly throughout the hall.

_"Hae ephadron_

_Theri thaur_

_Am na dhû_

_Ias fîr i ambar_

_A trehil i 'alad 'lân uir tri 'wilith,”_

You were deeply moved by the song. When everything had settled down, and Elves had begun to wander around the room and began chatting with one another, you gathered the stack of papers you had in your hands.

You slipped away from the crowd, and towards the musicians, papers in hand. They took notice of you rather quickly.

“Lady (Y/N),” The conductor said with a smile. “What brings you here? Come to play with us?”

You tilted your head side to side. “Eh, in a way,” You handed a booklet to the conductor. “This is for you,”

Leaving the confused conductor behind, you walked over to the musicians. You looked at the paper in your hands. “Violin...” You muttered as you looked around. Your eyes fell on the violin player. “Ah-ha! There you are,” You handed him a piece of paper.

“Viola... There you are, this is for you,” You handed a sheet to the viola player.

As you handed out sheets of paper to everyone in the small orchestra, the conductor looked at the booklet you gave him.

_“‘[Oom-Pah-Pah?](https://youtu.be/WlxixSV3hgU)’”_ He read the title out loud. “What is this?”

“It’s an arrangement,” You answered simply as you handed the last piece of sheet music away to the trombone player. “It’s a song from back home. When I heard that this party was a thing a few hours ago, I went right to work on arranging this music,”

The conductor stared at you in awe. “But this is expertly made! How could you have done this in only a few hours?”

You gave him a knowing wink. “Caffeine,” You turned to the orchestra. “Alright, everyone! This song should be relatively easy, so don’t you worry!” You turned away for a moment, before turning back to them. “And play this with vigor! Lots and lots of vigor and...” You searched for the right word. “Fun,” Eh, good enough. “Yes, have fun while playing this. Make it sound fun. Alright? Ready? Good,” You turned to the conductor. “Whenever you’re ready, maestro,”

The conductor nodded to you, lifting up his baton to ready his orchestra. Suddenly, a loud explosion of energetic music filled the air. Elves immediately stopped chatting amongst one another and turned to the orchestra, confused by the sudden change in music.

You stood up on the table and bowed deeply at the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” You shouted, “Brethren and sinners all! I’ve come to give you a very well known rendition of an old school song from Earth -- Oom-Pah-Pah!”

A commotion of excitement and confusion fell upon the crowd in front of you. You grabbed a nearby wine glass, and took a quick swig.

“All right, shut up, you lot!” You shouted. “A bit of culture now! 'Ere we go...”

You cleared your throat, and began.

_“There's a little ditty_

_They're singing in the city_

_Ecspecilly when they've been_

_On the gin_

_Or the beer_

_If you've got the patience_

_Your own imaginations_

_Will tell you just exactly what you want to hear..._

_Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_That's how it goes_

_Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_Ev'ryone knows_

_They all suppose what they want to suppose_

_When they hear... oom-pah-pah!!”_

You began to dance around as you sang the next verse.

_“Mister Percy Snodgrass_

_Would often have the odd glass --_

_But never when he thought anybody could see_

_Secretly he'd buy it_

_And drink it on the quiet_

_And dream he was an Earl_

_Wiv a girl on each knee!”_

You laughed with the crowd. At your astonishment, the crowd seemed to remember the words of the chorus, and sang along with you as you danced.

_“Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_That's how it goes_

_Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_Ev'ryone knows!”_

You began to sing alone again.

_“What is the cause of his red shiny nose?_

_Could it be... oom-pah-pah!?_

_Pretty little Sally_

_Goes walking down the alley_

_Displays her pretty ankles to all of the men_

_They could see her garters_

_But not for free-and-gratis--_

_An inch or two, and then she knows_

_When to say when!”_

All of you began to sing again.

_“Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_That's how it goes_

_Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_Ev'ryone knows!”_

You sang alone again.

_“Whether it's hidden, or whether it shows --_

_It's the same... oom-pah-pah!_

_She was from the country_

_But now she's up a gum tree - -_

_She let a feller beat 'er, then lead 'er along_

_What's the good o' cryin'?_

_She's made a bed to lie in_

_She's glad to bring the coin in_

_And join in this song!”_

The crowd joined in once again, and began to dance along with the joyful and vigorous music.

_“Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_That's how it goes!_

_Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_Ev'ryone knows!”_

You sang alone as you danced fervently.

_“She is no longer the same blushing rose!_

_Ever since ... oom-pah-pah!”_

You pointed to the crowd. “Altogether now!” You said. As the crowd sang the chorus, you sang the first verse.

_“There's a little ditty_

_They're singing in the city_

_Espeshly when they've been_

_On the gin_

_Or the beer_

_If you've got the patience_

_Your own imaginations_

_Will tell you just exactly what you want to hear...”_

You joined in with the crowd once again, and you all sang with more joy and energy than ever before.

_“Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_That's how it goes_

_Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah!_

_Ev'ryone knows!_

_They all suppose what they want to suppose..._

_When. They. Hear..._

_Oom-pah-pah!”_

The orchestra finished the song with a final triumphant note, and you threw open your arms as you finished singing. The crowd reacted immediately, cheering for you and the orchestra as you all stood up and bowed.

You stepped off of the table, getting swarmed by adoring Elves, saying how much they enjoyed your song. Your eyes fell on Tauriel, who was beaming at you. Her forest green eyes sparkled like stars as she did so. You were about to walk over to her, when you felt an arm wrap around you.

You looked up, and smiled. “Edol!”

Edol smiled down at you as he escorted you away from the crowd, and towards the bar. You looked over your shoulder, looking at Tauriel. Her eyes were filled with disappointment, but understanding. She understood that you had other friends, and you were allowed to be with them as well.

“That was an excellent performance, (Y/N),” Edol said as the two of you sat down at the barstools.

You chuckled. “Thanks,” You grabbed a glass of wine that the bartender had given you. You took a sip as Edol did the same.

“(Y/N)...” He said as you finished your drink. “I’ve really enjoyed my time with you,”

You smiled. “Me too, buddy,”

Edol smiled softly. “Uh... no,”

You raised an eyebrow. “No?”

Edol shifted. “I’ve given a lot of though over the years on how I want to spend my life. And...” He placed his hand on top of yours. “Who I want to spend it with,”

Your eyes widened in surprise and shock. You retracted your hand away quickly.

Edol gave you a concerned look. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m...” You wanted to say it, but you couldn’t. If you told anyone that Tauriel fancied women, she would be ruined. You couldn’t say what gender Tauriel preferred... but you could say which one _you_ preferred, and still keep Tauriel safe.

“Edol...” You began. “You’re a nice guy... but...” You swallowed. “I don’t swing that way,”

Edol gave you a confused look. “What?”

You sighed. “Alright, Edol, I’m just gonna give it to you straight,” You said. “I’m into girls,”

Edol gave you a hard stare. “...What?”

You nodded. “Yeah. I’m a huge lesbian,”

Edol looked at you with a grimace as he recoiled away from you. “(Y/N)! That’s... disgusting! That is absolutely disgusting!”

His words cut through you like a knife. Tears formed in your eyes as he continued.

“That is immoral! It is sickening! That kind of relationship is not even biologically possible!”

You felt anger bubble up inside you. “Well too bad!” You shouted. “If you don’t like it, you can leave!”

Edol looked at you with a blank look, as if he was putting together a puzzle inside of his mind. His eyebrows raised as he put in the final piece, and he could see the whole picture.

“You...” He connected the dots. “Tauriel...”

Your heart stopped completely. Time seemed to slow until it eventually stopped, yet you could still feel blood rapidly draining away from your face. Your stomach churned, your legs shook and your whole body ran cold. Was this what it felt like to pass out? Maybe it would’ve been better if you did. Your panicked eyes focused and unfocused on Edol’s face.

“N-no,” You tried to deny it.

Edol smirked as he pointed at you. “Oh yes. I should have known why you two were so close,”

You began to panic. “No Edol, no! I swear we’re just friends, I swear!”

Edol stood up from his stool as he set down his glass of wine on the wooden table rather harshly. “I have to thank you, (Y/N),” He smirked. “With this information, I am finally going to become Captain of the Guard!”

Your stomach dropped as dread overtook you. “No, please...”

Edol began to back away. “And when that finally happens, I know what my first act will be!”

Tears flowed from your eyes freely as he walked away. “NO!”

You ran after Edol, trying to stop him from spreading the word, but he disappeared into the crowd.

“(Y/N)!”

You turned your head at the mention of your name. You were stabbed with guilt when you saw who had called you.

Tauriel walked towards you. She saw the tears on your face, and she became concerned. She grabbed you gently by the shoulders. “What happened?”

You talked through your tears. “Edol... he,” You hiccuped. “He found out...”

All of the color drained from Tauriel’s horrified face.

You cried even harder. “I’m sorry Tauriel! I’m so, so sorry! I thought he was my friend and that I could trust him, I didn’t mean to—”

Tauriel let go of your shoulders. “I doesn’t matter if you meant it or not!”

Your eyes widened. You never heard Tauriel yell out of anger before.

Tauriel’s voice broke. “I trusted you. And you...” Her voice trailed off as she looked away from you, unable to look you directly in the eyes.

You took a step towards her. “Tauriel...”

Her head snapped back towards you. “Don’t,” She snapped. “You’ve ruined me,” Her eyes burned with anger and hurt. “Goodbye (Y/N),” She said with finality.

Before you could process what she had said, she walked past you. You turned around and grabbed her gently by her arm. She looked back at you in anger.

“Please...” You whispered as tears rolled down your cheeks. “Don’t leave me like they did...”

Tauriel’s eyes softened slightly as she heard the last soft spoken sentence you whispered. Her soft expression was hardened as she shook your hand off of her arm, disappearing into the crowd once again. You began to walk as if you were a ghost, a shell of a body with no soul, your guilt taken over you so utterly that you couldn't comprehend what was happening around you anymore. The world was a blur of grey, the voices around you muffled and far away.

You stumbled back to the bar you sat at earlier. Your eyes fell on the glass of wine that Edol had left a while ago. Without question, you grabbed it, and chugged the rest of the fluid.

The next fifteen minutes were all but a blur. Drink after drink you sat alone at the bar, hoping that somehow alcohol would make you feel better, but it didn’t. In fact, it made you feel worse.

The bartender gave you one more drink. “Compliments of the gentlemen across the bar,” He informed you.

In your drunken state, you didn’t question it. You snatched the tiny glass, and took a swig. Instant regret. It tasted awful. The drink was bitter, and it didn’t smell that good either. But you swallowed it anyways, a grimace showing on your face. There was no way in hell that you were going to back down from a stupid drink. You weren’t a quitter.

You felt the bitter drink go down your throat. After a few moments, your eyes began to focus and unfocus at the wrong things in the room. Things that were far away seemed close, and things that were close looked far away. You held you head as you groaned. Your heartbeat was pounding like a drum in your head, and your ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton.

You tried to stand up from your seat to go back to your room. Whatever was in that drink made you unbelievably tired, and you had to go back to your room before you crashed. You became instantly lightheaded. A wave of dizziness washed over you, the world spun.

You groaned as you struggled to keep your eyes open. Black swam around in your peripheral vision, routine natural noises becoming distorted and echoing within your mind.

You felt strong arms help you to your feet. You became relieved as this unknown elf helped you from falling to the floor.

“Thanksh...” You tried to thank whoever had helped you, but your words were slurred and sluggish.

You felt the person guide you away from the party, the noise of the crowd getting quieter and quieter. You heard a door shut behind you, followed with it loudly locking. Whatever room you were in, it was dark.

“Am I in my room?” You asked. “I may have had been hadding a few... drinks...” You struggled to finish your sentence.

You felt the person’s hands grab your waist. You tried to push their hands away, but you were too tired and intoxicated to do so.

“S...stop...” You mumbled.

They didn’t stop. You felt hands lift up your dress up to your waist. Panic became to overcome you.

“No...” You said. “No!”

You pressed your hands on the person’s chest, trying to push them away from you. You caught sight of the person’s face. Your eyes went wide, and the color drained from your face.

“Edol?”

Edol scowled at you as he pressed you violently against the wall, making you cry out.

“I’ll make you mine, no matter what it takes,” He growled at you.

Your mind connected the dots. You realized with horror, that Edol was the one that gave you the bitter drink. That drink was drugged. You tried to fight back, but the drug in your system made it almost impossible.

You felt Edol beginning to rip open your dress, exposing your chest. Tears stung your eyes as you tried to stop him.

“Please stop! Please, please stop!” You pleaded Edol, feeling your dress rip open fully.

Please, please, please let this be a nightmare. You closed your eyes, squeezing them shut, trying to wake yourself up. You felt your skirt fully hitch up to your waist, as a scream once more left your mouth, a hard slap hitting your cheek in return.

You heard a faint unbuckling sound. You felt something brush against your inner thigh. Before you could process what was happening, something pushed into you. You cried out in pain and terror as you realized what was happening.

You raised your head up to the sky. “HELP ME!” You cried. “PLEASE!”

You screamed as a sharp pain split in between your legs. Over and over again, another wave of pain shocked your system as you cried out.

You heard someone pounding on the door, trying to break in, but they couldn’t, due to Edol locking it beforehand. The drug in your system tried to shut off your brain, but you fought back with everything you had.

You felt another slap against your cheek. Your eyes filled with tears as your mind unwillingly reminded you something from the past. Something you didn’t want to remember. Edol’s face and presence was replaced with another...

“Brandi please!” You pleaded. “Please stop! I didn’t do anything wrong Brandi! I’m sorry!”

Another loud pound was heard on the other side of the door. It sounded like multiple elves were ramming their bodies against the door to break it open.

You heard Edol groan as he sped up his thrusts, each one sending a new wave of pain up your body.

Your eyes began to flutter shut as your body began to obey the drug in your system. Your head lolled back as you were about to slip into unconsciousness.

Through your fuzzy hearing, you heard the wood on the locked door shatter. Edol was thrown to the ground with a yell. You fell to the ground with a meaty thump. You heard unintelligible commotion. You looked to your right, and saw that Edol was being pinned down to the floor by armored guards.

The pain in between your legs was indescribable. You looked down, and you immediately wished you hadn’t. Your legs were trailed with blood and bodily fluids that leaked down from your genitals. You felt sick as tears involuntary fell down your cheeks. Your stomach gave a horrible lurch, and you bent over and vomited, your stomach emptying as you gagged heavily.

You fell to the ground once again, your head landing hard on the cool floor. You felt someone gather you into their arms. You were on your last thread of consciousness. Darkness began to creep into your vision. You looked upwards with your hazy vision to see who was holding you in their arms.

“Tauriel...” You whispered. You looked into her green eyes. “I’m sorry...” Your head fell backwards as your hand fell to the floor. You feel into the sweet relief of unconsciousness.


	10. Healing

Tauriel walked briskly down the stairs to the dungeons in Thranduil and Legolas’s wake. They walked past the cells of the grumbling dwarves, and down the stairs even further. They were here to confront the prisoner, for his fate was already decided. Tauriel’s anger burned within her like a thousand suns. What this elf had done... it was the most sick and vile thing someone could do to another.

The three came across the cell containing the prisoner. This cell in particular, was in the darkest part of the dungeon, where only one candle burnt. It was dark, dank, and the walls were covered in cobwebs and mold.

Thranduil clanked on the metal bars of the cell with his sword. “Wake up!” He demanded as he sheathed his blade.

Edol groaned as Tauriel could see his sleeping figure in the dark corner of his cell move. He stood up, stepping up to the light of the candle that Legolas held. He looked at him through the bars of the cell.

“Your Majesty...” Edol said as he bowed his head.

Legolas’s eyes burned with anger. He reached through the bars, grabbed Edol by the nape, and pulled, slamming Edol onto the bars.

“Don’t you speak to my father!” He spat. “What you just did was...” He struggled to find the words. “Despicable! It was vile! Evil!”

Edol smirked in the face of the Elven prince. “Now, now, my friend,” He said. “You are quick to draw words...”

Legolas pulled again, making Edol’s face slam into the metal bars again. “You have no right to speak!”

“Oh, but I think I do...” Edol pried Legolas’ hands off of his shirt collar as he took a step back. “(Y/N) had it coming... she needed her mind to be set right...”

Tauriel suddenly pulled out her dagger as she reached into the cell, and pulled him towards the cell bars, slamming his face onto the metal. His nose began to bleed as he groaned. She held her blade to his throat.

“HOW DARE YOU?!” Tauriel’s eyes reminded Edol of the fury of Morgoth himself. “HOW CAN YOU DO SUCH A VILE THING?! HOW CAN YOU RAPE (Y/N) AND NOT EVEN BAT AN EYE?!” Tauriel’s took a few breaths before continuing. “She trusted you. She thought you were her friend. She shared many treasured memories and with you! She shared a game from her world that was close to her heart with you! How could you do this to her?!”

Edol chuckled. “I think you know all too well, Tauriel,”

Tauriel pressed the blade even harder to his neck. Just one twitch of the blade could end his life. “If you dare-”

“Tauriel,” Thranduil said with sternness.

Tauriel begrudgingly lowered the blade from Edol’s neck, before stepping away from the cell.

“Why did you do this?” Thranduil asked with authority. “It seems you had a twisted reason to do so,”

Edol rolled his eyes. “It is not twisted, goodness no,” He laughed in the king’s face. “You see, you are harboring a homosexual in your halls,”

Thranduil’s face remained emotionless as Edol continued.

“(Y/N) is a filthy faggot,” Edol sneered.

Tauriel took out her knife again. She spoke through clenched teeth. “Don’t speak of her that way, filth!”

Thranduil have her a stern look over his shoulder. She begrudgingly lowered her weapon.

Edol continued. “(Y/N) immoral way of thinking had to be righted. Had to be fixed. So I just did what I thought would set her mind right. To snap her out of her...” He searched for the right word. “...phase,”

Edol pressed his face in between the bars so that he was looking Thranduil dead in the eye. “And It seems that your little human guest had a _relationship_ with one of the elf maidens in your halls, my Lord,”

Thranduil remained emotionless. “Who?”

Edol chuckled darkly. His eyes locked onto Tauriel. “She’s right here,”

Thranduil and Legolas looked behind them at Tauriel. Her jaw and fists tightened. A twinge of fear flashed in her eyes.

“He lies!” She shouted. She turned to Thranduil. “My Lord, will you believe the words of a vile, evil-”

“Enough!”

The room fell silent. Tauriel grew fearful under Thranduil’s stone cold gaze.

“Tauriel, come,” He commanded as he swiftly climbed up the stairs. He turned to one of the soldiers guarding the dungeon halls.

“Dispose of him,” He said cooly. The soldier nodded, and with his blade in hand, marched down the stairs.

As the trio walked away, the last thing to be heard, was a blade piercing flesh, a cry of pain, and the thump of a body.

~~~~~~~~

_She whispered her friend’s name hoarsely._

_Her friend took her hand. “It’s okay... she’s gone now... you don’t have to worry about her anymore...”_

_Tears filled her eyes. “But... I’m not sure if I wanted her to leave...” She swallowed. “I didn’t want her to die...”_

~~~~~~~~

You stirred as you forced your eyes to open. You grasped soft sheets with your fingers. You looked around. You were in the infirmary, you realized. You looked to your right out the window, and saw that the sun was just rising.

You began to sit up, but a huge pain stabbed at your abdomen as a huge wave of nausea washed over you. You cried out as your hands flew to your lower stomach. You closed your eyes and took several breaths, then you laid back down and continued to stare at the ceiling.

The pain slowly died off from your body as you panted. To your dismay, you remembered everything that happened the other night. The memory may have been foggy due to the drug in your system, but you had a pretty good idea of what happened.

Tears stung your eyes as you leaned your head back against the pillow. You had called Edol your friend. You trusted him. How could he? You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to hold back your stinging tears.

For a few minutes, you became properly acquainted with how horrible you felt, the thing that pressed itself at the front of your mind was how dry your mouth was. Without even thinking, you licked your lips, hoping for a glass of water.

As if by magic, you felt something near your mouth and heard a stern voice speaking softly to you. “Here, drink this,”

The thing that was near your mouth was a straw, and, after fumbling with it for a moment, you got your lips around it. You took a sip and shivered a little as the cool, crisp freshness of the water slipped over your tongue. Water had never tasted so good. You greedily drank it, sucking the glass of water dry in a matter of seconds.

You turned and looked in the area near where your head had been lying. There, looking back at you, was Thranduil.

“(Y/N),” Thranduil said.

“Hmm?”

“I have spoken to Edol,”

Your eyes were filled with fear. “W-what?!” Tears filled your eyes as panic welled in your voice. “No, no, no, no! He-”

“It is alright, (Y/N),” Thranduil assured you. “Edol has payed his sentence. You need not worry any longer about him,”

You visibly relaxed, but your eyes still had a look of fear and confusion in them. “W-what?”

You soon noticed that Thranduil was not the only elf in this room. Tauriel was standing against the wall behind the Elven King. But she looked worried... scared almost. She gave you an almost pleading look in her eyes as her jaw clenched.

“(Y/N),” Thranduil said. “I am going to ask you a series of questions,”

Your fear was soon replaced with regular confusion. “Okay...”

“Are you...” Thranduil’s words trailed off for a moment. “A homosexual?”

Well, that was certainly random. You were just about to ask why he asked, but you grew panicky again. The last time you had told someone you liked girls, you ended up getting raped. You were scared of what would happen if you would tell anyone else in this kingdom. You were about to lie to Thranduil, saying ‘No’, but something stopped you...

“Oh, yeah,” You found yourself answering truthfully. You immediately regretted it. You wanted to take it back, but to your horror, your mouth wouldn’t stop. “I am very gay,”

You soon found that no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t tell a lie. It was like your mouth had a filter, and no matter what, it would filter out the lies, and the only thing that would come out, is the truth.

Thranduil’s face remained expressionless. “And what is your relationship with Tauriel like?”

You could see Tauriel visibly stiffen from across the room. She was scared, you could tell. You knew that you couldn’t tell a lie. You had to tell the truth. She had warned you what would happen if anyone knew that she liked girls. You had to protect Tauriel. But how would you do that without lying?

But maybe... you didn’t have to lie.

“Well...” You began. “We’re friends. I mean, we _were_ ,”

Thranduil’s eyebrow raised. “What do you mean by that?”

“After I told Edol I was gay, he thought that me and Tauriel had a relationship. He thought that we were together romantically because we went to the party together. But went to that party as friends, and friends only,”

What you said was true. You did go to that party as friends.

“And after I told Tauriel about the whole ordeal,” You continued. “She got pretty pissed off at me, because I could have started a rumor about her on accident. She yelled at me, and granted, I deserved that. But, my Lord,” You looked to the king. “Me and Tauriel went to that party as friends, and friends only. I promise,”

Thranduil looked at you for a few moments, still as stone. You couldn’t tell what he was feeling, or what was going through his mind. Your heart began to pump faster as your adrenaline spiked. You began to grow fearful that he didn’t believe you. After a few seconds, or a few hours, you weren’t sure, Thranduil finally spoke.

“Tauriel,” He said as he stood up. “I am going to the dungeons to make sure Edol is... properly taken care of,”

Tauriel nodded. She felt a huge weight lift off of her shoulders as the king left the infirmary. Her entire life, her entire career, her reputation depended on your words. And you had managed to save her.

You and Tauriel looked at each other from across the room. You began to grow nervous under her gaze.

“Tauriel...” You began. “I’m sorry about this whole thing. I’m sorry that-”

Your words were cut off as the elf tackled you in a hug. You were shocked by her actions, but you hugged her back.

“Thank you,” Tauriel whispered. “Thank you so much. You saved me...”

You smiled as you fought the urge to bury your face in her soft auburn hair. “Well, I feel like I owed you,” You chuckled dryly. “After all, I almost ruined your whole life,”

You parted the hug, and the elf sat on the edge of the bed. She looked back at you with an honest and relieved smile.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Like shit…” You replied wryly as you laid your head back down.

Tauriel chuckled dryly. “Well, you did go through a lot,”

You scoffed. “Nah, I’ve been through worse, trust me,”

Tauriel’s face dropped. You hadn’t realized the gravity of the words you have just uttered. You didn’t know that she had seen the horrible scar on your stomach months earlier. The elf wouldn’t help but wonder what you went through that made this situation come in only second.

After moments of awkward silence, you coughed and sat up. “So, the weirdest thing just happened,” You chuffed. “When Thranduil was asking me questions, I just _could not_ lie. I know it sounds crazy-”

“No it doesn’t,” Tauriel interrupted.

“Huh?”

The elf sighed. “The water that you were given... that wasn’t water...”

Your eyes went wide. “What? Did he-!” Your voice went to a whisper. “Did he poison me?”

“Oh no, (Y/N) he wouldn’t hurt you,” Tauriel assured you. “After all, he is the one who welcomed you into his halls. He wouldn’t dare kill one of his guests, unless they tried to do the same to him,”

“Then...” You looked at her with worried eyes. “What did he give me?”

Tauriel sighed. “What Thranduil had given you was a concoction called Lyrindun, or as more simple folk would put it, a truth serum. It has exactly the taste and consistency of water, and it is completely harmless. It won’t cause you any mental or bodily harm,”

You let out a huge sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good,” You looked at her again. “But why did he ask me all of those questions? Does he have something against gay people? It seems like he does,”

Tauriel rubbed that back of her neck. “Well... it all started about 1,000 years ago, before I came into Thranduil’s service. The captain of the guard at the time, was a elf named Nyrin,”

“Nyrin...” You recognized that name. “Wait a minute... that’s the dude in the painting! Under Captain Haendol’s painting!”

Tauriel looked shocked. “I didn’t know that you went into The Hall of Captains,”

“Yeah... just a few days ago. When you were out on patrol,”

Tauriel continued with her tale. “Nyrin was one of the best Captain of the Guards the woodland elves had ever had. His mind was the sharpest out of all in the Elven kingdoms, and his charm and wits could get him out of any situation,”

_‘Captain Jack Sparrow, much?’_ You wondered with a smirk.

“Nyrin’s most trusted friend and comrade, Ryn, was with him anywhere he went. Ryn was fiercely loyal to Nyrin, and he never left his side. But over the centuries, their friendship turned into something more. They soon became husbands, and their marriage was celebrated all throughout the kingdom. The marriage of two males was unlike anything Middle Earth had ever seen before.

“But one day, after a battle, Nyrin changed. No one knows what had happened, but Nyrin’s mind had been corrupted by darkness. He went mad, and killed many elves with dark magic like no one had ever seen before. Ryn tried to stop him, but in blind rage, Nyrin killed his husband. As the dust cleared, Thranduil found Nyrin cradling Ryn’s body, repeating ‘Ryn’ over and over again.

“Thranduil banished Nyrin from all of the Elven kingdoms, and he left, never to return. After that, everyone was wary, even hateful towards people like Nyrin. Everyone was afraid that the kingdom would get hurt from someone like him again,”

Tauriel stopped her take, giving you time to let it sink in. After a minute of silence, you spoke.

“I understand that everyone was scared,” You said. “But holding prejudice against all gay people just because one person fucked up? That’s messed up. That’s wrong,”

“Wrong or right, it doesn’t matter. You see, this is why I can’t tell anyone,” Tauriel explained. “If elves find out that their Captain of the Guard is a homosexual...” She shifted her gaze to the far side of the room, unwilling and unable to look at you. “...they would think that history is repeating itself. They’ll think that I will go mad one day, just like Nyrin,”

You lifted a hand and ran it once through Tauriel’s hair. Her red hair was soft and silky as you touched it. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” You smiled. “Look at me,”

Tauriel looked at you, tears in her eyes.

You smiled at her. “Back in my world, gay people have been hiding in the shadows for thousands of years. Countless, terrible crimes have been done against us. Many young people get rejected from their own family, left to fend for themselves, and die in the streets.

“But through all of the hardship, there will be people who support us. There are people willing to help, willing to accept us. Nowadays, my world is more accepting than ever before. All because of the people who chose to accept us. All it takes is one person to support you, Tauriel,” You looked her dead in the eye. “And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that if one person accepts you, there is no doubt that others will learn to do the same,”

With some careful maneuvering, Tauriel climbed up onto the bed and put herself right beside you. She bent her head down and gently nuzzled at your shoulder as she wrapped her arms around you.

“Thank you...” She whispered. “I needed to hear that,”

You hugged her as well as you smiled into her shoulder. “Everyone does,”

Suddenly, a high-pitched note from a horn sounding from outside. Tauriel jumped up.

“That is the signal to close the water-gate,” She informed.

“What’s that mean?”

“It means something is wrong,” Tauriel pointed at you. “Stay here. I’ll be back,”

As Tauriel left, your mind ran a million miles and hour. What was wrong? Does Tauriel need any help? She did tell you to stay here, but what if something unexpected happened to her? You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you could have helped Tauriel, but you didn’t.

Before you could give it a second thought, you threw the blankets off of you, and ran out the infirmary door. You knew that this was a bad idea, but you've done stupider things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know “truth serum” is lame, but I couldn’t come up with anything else, so this is what you get


	11. That Could’ve Gone Better

After a few days of sneaking around the halls of Mirkwood, Bilbo Baggins freed the dwarves after stealing the keys to their cells. The dwarves each climbed into an empty barrel before Bilbo dropped them into the river from the cellar's trapdoor. Bilbo fell into the river, yelling. He surfaced and grabbed onto Nori’s barrel.

Thorin and the company, still in their barrels, have been waiting for Bilbo. They and the rest of the dwarves rapidly floated towards the water-gate.

“Well done, Master Baggins,” Thorin praised.

Bilbo, half drowned, waved his hand in thanks and managed to splutter out a word. “Go,”

“Come on, let’s go,” Thorin said.

The dwarves paddled with their hands as the river pulled their barrels along; elves rushed along passages in the Woodland Realm. The dwarves emerged into the sunlight, and Thorin saw a waterfall right in front of them.

“Hold on!”

The dwarves, Bilbo, and the barrels plunged through the rapids, then floated swiftly down the raging river. Legolas, followed by other elves, emerged from a gateway and saw them floating away.

_“Holo in-annon!”_ Legolas commanded.

An elf with him blew on a horn; as the dwarves round a corner in the river, they saw a guardpost built above the river. The heavily armored elves standing guard there heard the horn and pulled a lever, causing a heavy metal sluice gate to block the river. The dwarves came to a stop at the gate, unable to go further.

"No!" Thorin cried in anguish as the gate closed before him.

The barrels piled into each other. The elven guards drew their swords, but one was suddenly shot in the back with a black arrow. The guard dropped dead into the river. Before the surviving guards knew it, waves of orcs began storming the walls to kill them.

Just then, Tauriel ran out to see what was going on, armed with her bow, arrows, and blades.

The orcs began throwing themselves at the dwarves in their barrels. Bilbo managed to kill one with his sword, Sting, and Dwalin elbowed another in the face. Kili looked up and saw the lever the elven guard had pulled earlier. He managed to get out of his barrel and ran up the stairs toward the lever. Unarmed, he ducked as an Orc swings at him.

“Kili!”

Kili looked down to see Dwalin, who had managed to grab a sword. He threw it to Kili, who then fights his way to the top of the stairs. As Kili fights an orc, another one leapt up from behind him, raising its spear to stab him. Fili threw a dagger and killed the orc, allowing Kili to fight his own opponent and kill it. Bolg, noticing Kili, pulled his bow and arrows from his back. As Kili reached for the lever, Bolg fired an arrow, which hit Kili in the thigh. Kili stopped short, panting.

“Kili!” Fili cried out to his brother.

Kili groaned in pain and strained to pull the lever, but fell over onto his back. Bolg strung another arrow. An orc charged forward to finish off the crippled Kili. The dwarf closed his eyes, prepared for the Orc to kill him. But instead the sting of a Orcs blade, he heard the twang of a bowstring, and the groans of an Orc.

His head snapped to the side, to see that Tauriel had been the one to save him. The Captain of the Guard quickly exchanged glances with him before shooting another orc.

“Kill her!” The Orc Bolg gruffly ordered. “Kill the She-Elf!”

Just then, you ran outside of the palace. Your eyes widened when you saw what was going on. It was total fucking chaos. Creatures that you could only assume were Orcs had swarmed the grounds. They were fighting and killing elves left and right. And in the river, there were the dwarves riding in... barrels?

Kili managed to grab the lever and pull it, opening the sluice gate and letting the dwarves in their barrels through. He then fell on his back again in pain. The dwarves in barrels fell down another waterfall and float down the river. Bolg saw them.

“After them!”

Your eyes went away from the escaping dwarves. Your eyes searched frantically around the battlefield for Tauriel. After moments of panicked searching, you found her. She shot an Orc in the head with an arrow, then swiftly turned around and stabbed one in the neck with her dagger. Yep, she’s awesome.

But you weren’t the only one watching Tauriel. When Bolg saw her, he smirked, and put two fingers in his mouth and released a whistle only and Orc could hear. An Orc heard it, and tossed him an arrow. This arrow was completely black in color, except for the feathers, which were a deep purple. Bolg took his bow, knocked his arrow, and took aim. Straight at Tauriel.

Your eyes widened as you saw this. With a burst of adrenaline, you sprinted towards Tauriel. You had never ran this fast in your entire life. Not even when you ran away from those spiders.

“NO!”

The next few moments are only a blur in your memory. You only remember pushing Tauriel out of the way. The twang of a bowstring. Searing pain in your right shoulder.

“(Y/N)!” You heard someone shriek.

You mind was a maelstrom of conflicting thoughts, you were beginning to feel sick to your stomach, weak in the knees, the beat of your own heart pounding within your head.

You wanted to scream. You even felt it well up in your throat, but it died off. Your eyelids became heavy as your legs began to weaken. You felt yourself fall backwards, but you were caught before you hit the ground.

“(Y/N)!” It was Tauriel, you realized, who caught you.

Tauriel examined the arrow that pierced you. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She couldn’t even tell what it was made of. She looked at your shoulder. She let out a ear-piercing shriek of terror as she looked at the wound. She couldn't help it. It was the most terrible wound she had ever seen.

The wound somehow already began to fester. Dark puss oozed out of it, and bulging black veins ran through your shoulder, visibly pulsing every time your heart beat. The veins began to spread to other parts of your body. Tauriel could see the veins beginning to make its way up your neck. She could see something under the skin... _moving_.

“(Y/N)...” She whispered.

Just as you began to lose consciousness, you murmured: “Well, that didn’t go the way I hoped...”

All went black.


	12. Kick Some Orc Ass

Kulkodar stood at the window of a tower in the ruined remained of a castle. This palace was once the crown jewel of one of the great kingdoms of Men in the first age. But it soon suffered defeat, and its name was lost in history, and no one remembered it.

Kulkodar‘s pointed ears picked up the faint sound of quickly shuffling feet, and grunting. An Orc, Kulkodar recognized, was running up the stairs of the castle ruins, straight towards him.

“My Lord Kulkodar,” The Orc bowed deeply as he reached the top of the stairs. “The arrow has made a hit,”

Kulkodar smiled wickedly. “Did it hit the she-elf as planned?”

The Orc grew afraid. “N-no, My Lord,”

Kulkodar roared in frustration as he slammed his fist on the stone window pane. The Orc could have sworn that he heard the roar of a great beast hidden in Kulkodar‘s yell.

“Who shot the arrow?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“Bolg,”

A huge shockwave of dark magic came forth from Kulkodar as he slammed his fist against the wall. The Orc behind him was knocked violently off of his feet and onto his back, hitting the back of his head hard against the stone floor.

“That was the last arrow!” Kulkodar growled. “That arrow was the last of its kind in Middle Earth!” He growled. “That idiot! That bloody idiot of an Orc!”

He grabbed the side of an old rotting wooden table, and flipped it with all his might, making it crash into a million splinters as it made contact with the ground. “He was supposed to shoot the Captain of the Guard! He was supposed to infect the She-elf!” He snapped his head towards the Orc. “Who did he shoot instead?!”

“T-the human girl from earth,” The Orc answered. “The one called (Y/N),”

Kulkodar‘s rage melted away form his icy blue eyes. As he thought for a moment, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

“Well then,” He said. “There might be some alterations to the original plan, but we could still use Bolg’s slip up to our advantage,”

Kulkodar turned to the Orc. “Tell Bolg and his troops that the plan will be altered, but the roles of the elf and the human will be reversed,”

The Orc nodded, turned away and went down the stairs with his new message. Kulkodar sighed to himself.

“Oh, young (Y/N),” He shook his head. He fiddled with the stone necklace around his neck. He looked out of the glassless window. “Let’s see if your will is stronger than your body,”

~~~~~~~~

Muffled voices swam all around your mind. You couldn’t see. You couldn’t find strength to open your eyes.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,”

“Did you heal it?”

“Yes, I’m quite sure we did. But still... it was... disturbing,”

“I agree. How a human managed to survive this is beyond me,”

You forced your heavy eyelids open with much effort. Light immediately blinded you, and you shut your eyes again quickly. After a moment, you opened them again slowly, letting your eyes get used to the sudden sunlight pouring in through the window. You saw that you were back in the infirmary. Many healers and doctors were turned away from you, talking amongst one another about your wound caused by the arrow.

You tried to speak, but all you could manage was a moan. But you had managed to give a modicum of weak acknowledgment. You tried to sit up, but a hand gently stopped you from doing so.

“Easy now,” A soft male voice said. “Slowly. Slowly,”

You did as you were told, and sat up as slow as you could manage. You saw that you were surrounded by four healers, three of which were male, and one was female.

“You’ve had quite an injury,” The first said to you. “It took some time, but we managed to heal you completely,”

You smiled at him weakly. “Thank you,” You said through your dry mouth.

Your shoulder hurt something awful. It was covered in thick white bandages. There were orange-red dots where blood had oozed through the gauze padding.

“You were very lucky,” The healer said. “Your wound was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. If Tauriel had waited one more minute to bring you here, you would have gotten an infection fast,”

You whispered, “Really?”

He nodded. “You have been asleep for two days,” he said. “We have had to change your bandages to prevent infections,”

You leaned your head back and put a hand on your forehead. “Two days?”

“The worst of it is over,” The other healer reassured. “You should be well soon enough,”

You smiled.

“Miss (Y/N),” The female healer piped up. “You have a visitor,”

You smiled, knowing exactly who your visitor was. You nodded. “Let her in,”

The healer opened the door, and motioned for someone to come in, then they all made their way out of the room. Tauriel burst into the room, and ran over to your bed.

“(Y/N)!” She cried as she threw her arms around you. She looked at you, her eyes full of worry. “How are you?! Are you okay?! Does anything hurt?!”

“I’m fine!” You shout through your grin. You winced a little bit as Tauriel’s hand brushed your injured shoulder. “My shoulder hurts a bit, though,”

Tauriel immediately took her hands off of both of your shoulders. “Why would you put yourself in danger?” Her eyes go downcast and she paused. “... for me?”

She felt a coolness placed in her right hand. She looked up to see your fingers intertwined with her own.

You smiled at her from your pillow. “Why not?” You pulled her hand onto your lap as you squeezed it slightly. “I care about you, Tauriel. A lot,”

The words seemed to unlock something within the elf, and a sort of sadness blossomed visibly in the hues of her eyes before they were devoured by a desirous form of realization. Her focus darted away for an instant, as though ashamed of a sudden thought.

“What happened out there?” You asked her. “Why were those Orcs attacking us?”

“They were were tracking the company of thirteen dwarves,” Tauriel informed you. “I don’t know exactly what they’re planning, but the Orc That Legolas captured said, ‘The fires of war are upon you,’” She sighed.

“You want to do something, don’t you?” You have her a knowing smile.

Tauriel nodded.

“Then, why won’t you?”

“The King ordered a shut down on the whole kingdoms,” Tauriel explained. “No one goes in or out of the palace without Thranduil knowing,”

Your index finger ran down a lock of Tauriel’s red hair, slowly diving it in two as you perk your head up. “But do you want to go?”

Tauriel looked surprised at you. “But what about you?”

You rolled your eyes with a playful scoff. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll ask again. Do you want to go?”

Tauriel sighed, and begrudgingly nodded her head. “Yes,”

You smiled. “Then go,”

She looked down at you, shocked. “What?”

“Go,”

Tauriel stuttered. “But- But the new order-”

“Fuck the new order,” You cut her off. You put your hands on her shoulders as you looked at her dead in the eye. “You want to help. So go and help,” You smiled. “Now go out there, and kick some Orc ass!”

Tauriel couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “Are you sure?”

You smiled brightly. “If you feel like this is the right thing, then who am I to stop you? Who is anyone to stop you?”

Tauriel gently took your hands in hers, and gently kissed your knuckles. “I will be back. I promise,”

You took off your blue bracelet from home, and put it around Tauriel’s right wrist. “I know you will,”

Tauriel looked at the silver moon charm on your blue bracelet now clipped around her wrist. This bracelet was her promise to you. The promise that she would come back.

“Please...” You whispered. You gently poked Tauriel’s chest. “Come back...”

Tauriel had looked down at your finger, which you then flicked up to hit her nose gently. Tauriel looked at you with a smile.

“Gotcha,” You smiled.

She laughed gently. Then she gently took your head in her hands, and tenderly kissed your forehead. You felt yourself blush deeply as Tauriel did this. You felt a tingling on your skin where she had kissed your forehead.

With one final soft smile, Tauriel turned, and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.


	13. Thirteen Nights

The next day, you heard people talking about how Tauriel had snuck out of the palace, going against the King’s orders. You smiled to yourself when you heard the news. She was doing what she felt was right, and you were proud of her for that.

You were allowed to leave the infirmary, and back to your chambers. Your shoulder still needed some time to heal, but it wasn’t so serious that you needed to be looked after 24/7.

But tonight was rather strange. The day felt like it was going much quicker than it usually would. At dinner you sat amongst your normal table, right by the two guards. One was blonde, named Arunin, and the other was a brunette named Arelen. They were twin brothers, and they looked identical (if you don’t count the hair color). You were merely acquaintances, who occasionally spoke at meals.

As you took your seat at the long table, you froze in place. You didn’t know why, but you felt uneasy. As if someone was watching you. You felt a presence in the room, haunting the edge of your consciousness. Your eyes darted around the room, looking for someone who was watching you, but you couldn’t find anyone. Everyone was too focused on their meals, and chatting with their neighbors about God knows what.

“(Y/N)?”

You snapped out of your trance. As soon as the presence was felt, it was gone.

Arunin spoke again. “(Y/N), are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I just...” Your eyes shifted. “I just spaced out,” You brought your cup to your lips. “That’s all...”

~~~~~~~~

**Night One**

You lay in bed, tired as all hell, but unable to sleep. No matter what position you slept in, you couldn’t get comfortable. You listened to the creaks and groans of the room settling in. Your room got quiet enough that you could hear the chatter of the elves outside. They didn’t need as much sleep as humans did. You wish you had that ability.

Sleep seemed a remote possibility, but eventually it came. It was about four in the morning when you finally dozed off.

When you woke up in the morning, you couldn’t tell if you had a dream when you slept or not. But you could have sworn that you saw something...

~~~~~~~~

**Night Two**

Due to your lack of sleep the previous night, you fell asleep rather quickly. You had a dream that night. It was very fuzzy in your memory. You couldn’t remember what had happened in your dream, but you do remember waking up in a cold sweat.

Your heart beat violently against your rib cage, and your hands were clenched in tight fists. Your injured shoulder began to throb. Strange. The doctors said that the wound was almost completely healed. Why did it hurt still? You rubbed the bandaged shoulder as you sighed. You didn’t know why you were so scared. But soon you shrugged it off, and went back to sleep.

You dreamt of nothing that night after that.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Three**

You sat upright, panting heavily as beads of sweat ran down your forehead. Tonight was different than the last two. You had a very vivid dream. No. A _nightmare_.

Edol was there. He was smiling wickedly. You were both in the exact room where he had raped you during the Feast if Starlight. The elf you once called friend held a knife in his right hand.

You tried to run, but you found that you couldn’t move. You were frozen in place, and you couldn’t do anything. You couldn’t run, fight, or hide. But you soon found that you could scream.

You tried to scream, but Edol covered your mouth with his hand, and with the other, he held his knife. Without any flare, he put the knife to your neck, and cut your throat.

That’s when you woke up.

You had managed to calm yourself down, telling yourself that it was just a nightmare. But you still felt unsafe in your room.

You didn’t sleep until the dawn had risen.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Four, Five, Six, and Seven**

You had the same nightmare for the next four nights. You had expected it by now, and it was getting less and less frightening. Earlier that day, elves were beginning to notice that you were looking sleep deprived, but they said nothing. Even Arelen and Arunin were starting to pay more attention to you. They were worried, but they still said nothing.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Eight**

Oh God. This was worse. This was so much worse.

Edol didn’t kill you quickly like he did before. He tortured you. He stretched out your death, making life more and more unbearable until death seemed like a release. You could literally _feel_ everything that he did to you. You couldn’t speak or scream, for your tongue was cut out with a rusty knife. You were cut open, mutilated. He laughed as he cut you open until there was nothing left but your beating heart and lungs in your body.

The last thing he did, was stab you in your exposed beating heart.

You spend the rest of the night, and the entire day afterwards shivering in bed, crying until there were no more tears left to cry.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Nine**

You didn’t sleep at all. You forced yourself to stay awake all night, in fear that you would be killed brutally by Edol once again. You didn’t understand. Why were you having these nightmares? Why were they so vivid? Why did they feel so damn real?!

You soon only found comfort in sleeping in the sunlight, in a branch on a tree in a courtyard. People were getting worried. You were skipping many meals, and refusing to sleep anywhere else besides the tree in the courtyard.

Arunin tried to ask you about it, but you snapped at him, and ran off. In fact, that’s what you did to everyone that confronted you about your problem.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Ten**

He’s here! Oh God he’s here! He’s watching you from the dark corner of your bedroom. He had the knife in his hand, and he was smiling menacingly. He didn’t move, and neither did you. You were sleepy to the point of near-madness, but you refused to tear your eyes from the corner.

Edol stood very still. You knew that if you tore your eyes from him, you were dead. You still allowed yourself to blink, seeing that he still stood still when you did so.

It wasn’t until when the rays of morning sun shine in through your window, that Edol disappeared.

It wasn’t until much later you let yourself sleep in the tree in the courtyard.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Eleven**

There he was again. In the same dark corner. Smiling at you with his knife. You couldn’t take it anymore. You were beginning to go mad. You were beginning to crack.

“Leave me alone...” You muttered. But you still didn’t take your eyes off of him. “Leave me alone,” You said a little louder. All Edol did in response, was smile wider. Tears of terror filled your eyes. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

A few moments later, a night guard burst into your room. It was Arelen, you realized.

“What is it, (Y/N)?” He asked with concern as he rushed to your side in bed. “What’s wrong?”

“He moves...” You explained with a shaky voice, refusing to break eye contact with the corner. “But only when you can't see him. That's when he moves,”

“When who moves?”

“Edol,” You answered as you pointed to the corner with a trembling hand.

“(Y/N), look at me. There's nothing there,” Arelen assured you. “It is only me and you in here. No one else. That corner is empty. There is nothing there,”

You looked back at the corner.

“He’s not there,” You said flatly.

“I know,” Arelen smiled.

“He...” Your eyes went wide. “He must have moved!" You screamed.

“(Y/N), listen to me,” Arelen grabbed your shoulders. “Edol is dead! There is no way he is here in this room with you! You are fine. You are safe,”

You shook your head. “No. No, no, no, no! He’s alive! He faked his death to trick you! He’s here! In this room! _He’s going to kill me!!”_

Arelen gently shushed you. “I’m going to get the healers, okay?”

You nodded without looking at him. “Okay...”

“You’re going to be alright, (Y/N),” He comforted you the best he could. “Stay calm, and I’ll be right back,”

You nodded as he left the bedroom. You stood up from your bed as soon as the door shut. You looked around the room frantically for Edol. He was hiding in this room, you just knew it. He was going to kill you the moment he gets the chance.

You looked in the mirror on the wall. You could barely see your reflection in the dark, but you could still see how disheveled you looked.

Your eyes went wide as your heart stopped. There he was. He was in the reflection in the mirror! You screamed an ear piercing shriek of terror as you stumbled backwards.

Arelen heard the sound of your scream, and the shattering of glass. He and a few healers raced up to your room.

The found you struggling on the floor, your back positioned above the shattered glass coffee table. “He’s here, he’s here, he’s here, he’s here!” You screamed again as you cried out into the air:

“TAURIEL, HELP ME!”

~~~~~~~~

**Night Twelve**

You had overheard the healers talking about you. You were back in the infirmary for the third time. They were worried about you, that was for sure. But you didn’t care. All that mattered to you was staying awake. Edol wasn’t here in this room, but he was still in your nightmares.

A few hours ago, you had dozed off from extreme tiredness. To your terror, you found Edol waiting for you in the same room. He said that he missed you, and came to visit you in the real world earlier. He tortured you relentlessly until you woke up screaming.

The healers had managed to shake you awake as you were asleep. They described you sleeping. As you had your nightmare, you were screaming. They said it was like watching a seizure.

It got so serious that the healers would have normally have brought King Thranduil in, but he left a while ago. He left with his army in search of his precious white gems in Erebor.

“Here,” One of the healers said. He had two glasses, one in each hand. He held out a glass filled with a clear liquid. “Drink this,”

You paled. Mind flashed back to your first visit to the infirmary. Thranduil giving you water to drink, only to be informed that it wasn’t water at all. You couldn’t tell a single lie. Your vision became hazed as the world began to spin around you. You began whispering under your breath.

“No...no...nononononoNONONONO!” You leapt out of the bed and backed up, eyes wide with fear as you shook your head violently. “N-no...no, I don't want it,”

He sighed. “Please (Y/N), things will be easier for you if you just drink it,”

Your hand lashed out, smacking one of the glasses out of the healer’s hand. “I SAID I DON'T WANT IT! I know what you're doing! I know that isn’t water! You’re going to give me some kind of fucking potion! Well, I don’t want it!”

You began to sob as you backed into a corner. “...Tauriel... where are you...”

The healer stepped closer to you. “(Y/N)... Tauriel is banished from Mirkwood for defying Thranduil’s orders,”

Your heart stopped. Time seemed to slow down as the blood began to drain from your face. The one thread of hope that this whole nightmare would stop... had finally snapped.

As you say there in shock, they used this to their advantage. Without warning, all of the healers in the infirmary rushes to you. They picked you up and brought you to the healer with the glass. You thrashed around and screamed in protest as they did so, but it was one human against a dozen elves.

The healer roughly grabbed your jaw and forced your mouth open. He drained the clear liquid from the glass into your mouth. He clamped your mouth shut before you could spit it out. You tried desperately to move your head away from his hand, but he didn’t budge. You had to choice but to swallow the drink.

Instantly, the world dimmed around you. Your fell limp as your body shut down completely. You had another terror filled nightmare, but this time, you couldn’t wake up.

~~~~~~~~

**Night Thirteen**

The liquid that you had been forced to drink completely paralyzed you as you slept, so that the healers could examine your body to find out what was wrong with you.

They found nothing.

They used magic to look inside your mind to see if there was any dark magic meddling with your mind.

They found nothing.

The healers left after a few hours to leave you to sleep in peace. When they came back later that day, they had expected you to still be in the bed.

They found nothing.

You were curled up in your own bed, your blankets around your shivering body. He was talking to you. He whispered to you, seemingly inches away from your ear. He only said one phrase over... and over... and over... and over again.

_‘Go to sleep. I miss you...”_


	14. The Battle of the Five Armies

The Battle of the Five Armies was raging. The dwarves or Erebor, the Elves of Mirkwood, and the Men Of Laketown were fighting against the forces of Azog the Defiler, and his son Bolg.

Tauriel watched as the 13 dwarves of Erebor finally charged out of the mountain into battle. She smiled when she saw Kili amongst them. When she had healed him earlier of his wound caused by the Morgul Shaft, she would soon call him a friend, and him in return.

The elf ran towards the city of Dale, her bow in hand, her arrows upon her back and her blades on her belt. She slaughtered any Orc that came in her way with an arrow.

Suddenly, she heard a horn blow. She recognized it. It was an elvish horn! What had Thranduil just ordered? What was he doing?

“My Lord, disperse this force to Ravenhill,” Gandalf the Grey pleaded with Lord Thranduil. “The Dwarves are about to be overrun. Thorin must be warned,”

“By all means, warn him,” Thranduil said cooly. “I’ve spent enough Elvish blood in defense of this accursed land. No more!”

A group of elves promptly arrived to escort Thranduil through the city. Thranduil didn't even break stride as he killed an orc who tried to ambush him. Once he'd reached the main gate, he summoned what was left of his army before heading back to Mirkwood. That plan hit an immediate problem. Thranduil entered a narrow laneway only to find his path blocked by a recently banished subject.

“You will go no further,” Tauriel defiantly told him. “You will not turn away – not this time!”

“Get out of my way,” Thranduil scorned in response.

“The Dwarves will be slaughtered,”

“Yes, they will die. Today, tomorrow, one year hence, a hundred years from now. What does it matter? They are mortal,”

An enraged Tauriel nocked an arrow at Thranduil. Banishment allowed her to finally voice a long-held opinion.

“You think your life is worth more than theirs, while there is no love in it?” Was her scathing assessment. “There is no love in you!”

Thranduil's stone cold façade cracked for the first time in millennia. It had been masking how much he was heartbroken by his wife's death. The pain drove him to become emotionally detached. Unfortunately, such detachment also cut himself from emotions like love, joy, and compassion. Tauriel had successfully made him realize this.

Centuries of pent-up grief and anger exploded within Thranduil. He swung his sword like lightning and cut Tauriel's bow in half. Thranduil instantly pointed his blade against Tauriel's throat.

“What do you know of love?!” Thranduil's voice cracked. “Nothing! What you feel for that human woman is not real!”

Tauriel's eyes welled with tears at the accusation. Thranduil didn't relent.

“You think it is love?!” Thranduil disparaged her right to judge him. “Are you ready to die for it?”

She glared at him defiantly. She didn’t care anymore. She didn’t care if everyone found out, because it was the truth. “Yes. Yes I am,”

Her response surprised the king greatly. For a moment, he almost lowered his sword.

Tauriel smiled sadly. “I do love (Y/N) (L/N),” She displayed the blue bracelet you had given her before she left. “And this is my promise to her. And I’ll be damned if I break it,”

From her left, Orcrist suddenly rested atop the Elf-king's sword. After the blade pushed away his own, Thranduil looked at its wielder.

“If you harm her you will have to kill me,” Legolas said. He turned to Tauriel. “I will go with you,”

The pair hurried away towards Ravenhill. Thranduil stood in shock. He believed his son had lost all respect for him. Thranduil felt utterly crushed. He had come to Erebor with his army confident of reclaiming the White Gems of Lasgalen. Now it seemed he just lost everything that truly mattered.

~~~~~~~~

“Kili...”

Tauriel and Legolas were separated. As he went off to fight, she went up to a tower. She saw her friend Kili fighting and Orc up there.

Tauriel attracted a bodyguard's attention. She swiftly despised of it with both her blades.

“Kili!” Tauriel called out.

Kili's reply didn't just indicate he was close.

“Tauriel!” He desperately replied.

He was in trouble! Suddenly, Bolg attacked Tauriel from behind. She groaned as she was thrown against the wall. Just as the Orc was about to stab her, Kili seemingly came out of nowhere and landed on top of the Orc. Bolg roared in anger as his attack was interrupted.

Bolg grabbed Kili and slammed him to the ground. He grabbed him by the neck, and positioned him so that his back was arched and his chest was up. Bolg raised his weapon, ready to stab Kili in the chest.

Tauriel tried to stop him by jumping on him and grabbing onto his arm, but she was merely tossed aside. She rolled onto the ground. Before she could get up, she heard a grunt of pain.

“NO!”

Kili, Tauriel’s friend, was stabbed directly in the chest by Bolg. He tossed the dwarf aside like a worthless piece of meat. Tauriel felt something within her snap. She couldn't move, couldn't speak...think. All she felt was the need for vengeance! Without much thought, she charged towards Bolg, rage burning deep inside of her.

She jumped onto him. Bolg ran to the edge of the cliff, trying to throw her off, but she clung onto him. As her body twisted around the Orc, her feet found traction on the stone wall behind them. She pushed with all of her strength, causing both her and Bolg to fall off of the cliff with a scream.

Mist engulfed her vision, and she the cliff above disappeared from her sight. She closed her eyes as she fell freely. After a few moments, she hit a big rock, and fell again. She then hit the bottom of the gorge, making a cracking noise as her left elbow shattered completely. She screamed in agony as she cradled her injured arm

For a moment, everything was still. Not an emotion stirred inside Tauriel, not a single heartbeat, or a breath in her lungs. And then that moment ended, and it all came crashing into her. Her gut twisted as the extreme pain of loss and sorrow crashed down like a wave. Everything that had just happened shattered something deep inside her. A pain bloomed like thorns in her chest, she was suddenly out of breath. She could not stop the tears that filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks, or the strangled cry that escaped her throat.

She failed. She failed to save Kili. Her friend.

With some effort, Tauriel stood up, wincing every time her elbow shot pain up her arm. In front of her, was an empty cave. She knew that she couldn’t fight anymore. She ran into the dark cave as quietly as possible. She leaned her back against the cold stone walls as she caught her breath.

The elf heard something move deeper in the cave. The silence that followed was only momentary.

_“I see you,”_ A deep, resonant voice said.

Tauriel paled. All of her sorrow was quickly replaced with fright. Someone stepped out of the shadows in front of her.

It was an elf! His pointed ears gave it away. He had long dark hair spilling over his shoulders. He was dressed in black, making his pale skin look even paler. Around his eyes, were black scales imbedded in his skin. But what truly caught Tauriel’s attention, were his blue eyes. They weren’t a normal blue. They were so blue that they were almost white. The parts of his eyes that should have been white, were a light turquoise. Tauriel swore that she felt cold looking at them. His dark pupils were frighteningly narrow. Around his neck, was a stone necklace.

“Thank you so much for visiting me, Tauriel,” The elf smirked, revealing his sharp canines.

Tauriel gasped involuntary. “How do you know my name?”

The elf chuckled darkly. “I know much more than you think, Captain. Well, not anymore anyways,”

“Who are you?!” Tauriel demanded.

“Oh, yes. Where are my manners?” The elf bowed deeply. “Kulkodar. At your service,”

“What do you want?”

Kulkodar held out his hand. “First, to heal your broken bone,”

Tauriel hesitated as she instinctively took a step back. Kulkodar sighed as she did this.

“You have good instincts,” He said. “You are right not to trust anyone you first meet. However, you don’t have to trust me. Only trust that I will heal you,”

Tauriel still felt unsure. What if it was a trick?

Kulkodar held out his hand again. “I swore an unbreakable magical oath that I will never lie. I haven’t told a single lie in 1,000 years,” He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a silver scar on his wrist, the symbol of an unbreakable oath.

This kind of oath is not to be taken lightly. Even the high king of old didn’t take that kind of oath. If one made an unbreakable oath, and they broke their promise, they would die on the spot.

With this piece of information, Tauriel held out her injured arm. Kulkodar gently grabbed her wrist. He moved his hand over her bad arm and closed his eyes. A soft blue glow encased around Tauriel’s elbow.

Tauriel expected to feel some sort of pain when her bones fused themselves back together, but it never came. In a span of about 30 seconds, the blue glow dissipated. Tauriel grabbed her elbow and moved her arm, testing to see if it wasn’t broken anymore.

“Healing magic,” Kulkodar smiled. “It cannot be found anywhere else except for Middle Earth,” He sighed as he shook his head, “If only Earth had it... maybe (Y/N) wouldn’t have suffered as much as she did,”

Tauriel’s head snapped up at those words. “What?!”

Kulkodar covered his mouth, “I shouldn’t have said that,” He muttered.

Tauriel grabbed his arm before he could walk away, “What are you talking about? What happened to (Y/N)?”

Kulkodar’s hand began to glow a soft blue. “Although I cannot travel to other realms, I have been given the power to see them. I can see any event, at any time, in any realm I wish,” The blue glow began to encase the two. “I have been able to see why (Y/N) was brought here... and her past,”

Blue mist traveled up Tauriel’s body, and began to cover her eyes. Kulkodar smirked as blue magic covered Tauriel completely.

With a flash of blinding white light, Tauriel’s vision went black.


	15. The Past

A bright flash of light. And another. And another. There was indistinct and hurried chatter. Tauriel opened her eyes. She was in a completely new place. There were thousands of people standing behind a strange rope, all of them cheering and holding out papers. Men and women all dressed in elegant dresses and suits were signing the papers as they smiled at the crowd.

There was a long red carpet on the floor, where the elegantly dressed people would pose and smile for the people with the strange machines that flashed bright light.

One of the people holding a machine groaned as he lowered the machine. “Camera’s dead,” He turned to another person. “You have the spare?”

On cue, the person pulled out another machine from his large backpack, and gave it to the man.

Camera. So that’s what they were. Tauriel didn’t know what exactly they did.

“Excuse me,” Tauriel walked up to the nearest person. “What-”

She reached a hand up to touch the person’s shoulder, but to her shock, her hand went right through like mist.

“You cannot interact with anything, Captain,” Kulkodar said as-a-matter-of-factly as he walked up to Tauriel from behind. “You are merely a spectator,”

“What is this place?” Tauriel asked.

“This is Earth,” Kulkodar explained. “This event is called a ‘Red Carpet movie premiere’. The crowd over there, are what they call ‘fans’. They admire the actors and movie makers walking on the red carpet,” He gestured to the people in elegant clothing.

“Movie?” Tauriel asked.

“A movie is a story recorded by a camera for entertainment. When one watches a movie, they watch events that have already happened right in front of them. But this movie in particular is make believe. These are all actors,”

Tauriel had never heard of such a thing.

Kulkodar gestured to the red carpet again. “I think this next woman will intrigue you,”

Tauriel was in shock at who she saw. It was you! Your (h/l) hair was fixed in a elegant hairstyle. You wore a fancy dark blue dress that hugged your figure. It looked like it was made of silk. You wore a lot of makeup on your face, your lips were red, your eyelids were painted a smoky blue, and the rest of your face was contoured to perfection. Tauriel almost didn’t recognize you. You looked a few years younger now, like a teenager.

You posed for the cameras, your hand on your hip as you smiled without teeth. Tauriel wondered what you were doing here, and why you were dressed so elegantly.

Soon, you left the flashing cameras as another woman took your place. You walked further along the carpet. People with cameras and microphones swarmed you.

“(Y/N) (L/N),” A woman greeted you as she shook your hand. “A lot of people back home are wondering how someone as young as you managed to compose a whole score in less than a month?”

You smiled as you spoke into the microphone. “Well, all my life I’ve had a talent for music. When I was little, me and my dad would spend hours listening to music, and playing instruments. But when he died when I was four, I wanted to make him proud. So, I began writing music when I was ten. Writing and composing music had always come easy for me,” You chuckled. “But composing music for Hollywood is still pretty damn hard,”

The interviewer laughed. It sounded like she was faking it and trying too hard. “Do you plan to compose a score again?”

You shrugged. “In general? Yes, I will definitely write music in the future. But for a movie score? No, not in the near future. Maybe when I’m an adult, but not now,”

The rest of the interview was drowned out as the scene began to warp.

”What’s happening?” Tauriel asked.

“Going further into the future,” Kulkodar explained. “Four months after the red carpet,”

A concert hall. Tauriel was now standing in front of a large stage with an entire orchestra playing on it. They all played a gorgeous, triumphant melody that gave her chills. She noticed that there was almost no audience, just a couple of families.

Tauriel looked up at the strange again. There you were. You wore simple clothes. Black pants, and a nice white shirt with a black overshirt. You were playing the viola. You had your eyes closed as your finger gracefully slid over each string. You looked absolutely blissful as you played. You didn’t even have to look at the sheet music in front of you. You looked happy, blissful... and alive.

Soon, the song ended, and the conductor tapped her baton on the stand in front of her.

“Alright,” She said. “Practice is over, you are all free to go. Same time tomorrow night,”

And with those words, the orchestra began to gather their things and chat amongst one another. Tauriel saw you offstage, packing your instrument in the case. Tauriel observed that you had a rainbow sticker on the case, as well as a yellow smiley face sticker, and a sticker that said, _‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’_

A person with dark skin and freckles walked over to you. They had dark hair tied in many long braids tied in with bright blue fake hair at the ends. They had big round spectacles on their nose, and a big rainbow bracelet on their wrist.

“Hey,” The person smiled as they got your attention. “Name’s Fey,”

You seemed shocked that someone was talking to you, but you smiled. “I’m (Y/N),”

You shook Fey’s hand. “Pronouns?”

“Huh?”

Fey chuckled. “Your pronouns? Mine are they/them. What about you?”

“Oh, uh, she/her,” You answered with a smile. “No one ever asked me that before,”

Fey smiled. “Well, let me be the first. Hey, you’re new here, right?”

You nodded. “Yep,”

“Wanna meet the rest of my friends?” Fey suggested.

“Oh! Sure!” You smiled brightly.

Fey escorted you to a group of people on the stage who were packing up their instruments as well.

“Hey, dipshits!” Fey greeted them. “This is (Y/N),” Fey turned to you. “(Y/N) this is Dimitri, Emmanuel, David and Ryan,”

Dimitri had short and frizzy black hair and light brown skin. He was a little chubby, and he had a joyful aura about him. He was packing a large double bass into a case.

Emmanuel had dirty blonde hair that shagged over his eyes. His pale skin made his many freckles stand out. He was packing a small flute.

Ryan had the darkest skin out of everybody, which made his blue eyes stand out. He had short black shiny hair. He was packing a small violin in a case.

David had light brown hair that reached to his shoulders, and deep brown eyes. He was packing a very large tuba.

The four of them greeted you as they smiled, and you smiled back.

“And this,” Fey said. “Is my sister Brenda,”

You couldn’t help but stare. Brenda had long black hair tied into a messy ponytail. Her eyes were brown, and she had pale skin. And she was, without a doubt, absolutely gorgeous.

“It’s Brandi, you twit,” She joked.

Tauriel was shocked. The two didn’t even look the slightest bit related, except for the brown eyes.

Fey pointed to Brandi. “She’s the adopted one, not me,” They explained.

Brandi chuckled as she strode over to you. “Hey,” She held her hand out to shake. “(Y/N), right?”

You nodded as you smiled.

“Wait,” Ryan said as he stepped closer. “(Y/N) as in (Y/N)(L/N) the composer? The one who’s been writing sheet music since she was nine?”

You smiled sheepishly. “I was ten when I started, actually,” You corrected.

David spoke. “Did you write the song ‘ _Unmei?’_ ”

You nodded.

David laughed dryly. “You really needed to write better tuba parts for that song,” He put his large tuba in position. “The only thing I remember playing was this for ten minutes,” He played one short low note that could barley be audible. He stopped. “And that’s all I played for the entire song,”

You giggled at his playful banter. “Yeah, sorry about that,”

David positioned his tuba again. “But I really liked _‘Gia’s Battle’_ ,” He said. “Especially when I got to do this!” He took a deep breath.

Everyone’s eyes widened. Emmanuel held his hands out to stop him. “No, no, no, no, no-”

They were too late. David blew as hard as he could, causing the tuba to make a colossal foghorn noise.

Dimitri slapped David on the shoulder. “Bitch, we hate it when you do that! It’s not funny”

David smiled. “Then why am I laughing?” He made a fake laughing sound as he childishly stuck his tongue out at the other boy. Dimitri immediately did it back.

Fey sighed as they smiled at you. “So basically, everyone here’s an idiot,” They wrapped an arm around your shoulder. “So what do you think, you in?”

You beamed as you nodded. “Fuck yeah,”

Tauriel couldn’t help but smile as she watched you make new friends. Everyone in the group seemed to genuinely enjoy your company. But Tauriel couldn’t tear her eyes away from the woman named Brandi. She kept watching you in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.

The scene began to change once again. But this time, Kulkodar didn’t need to speak. Now, Tauriel already automatically knew how far she was in the future. One year.

Now, Tauriel was sitting in some kind of transportation device. It had cushioned seats, and Dimitri was at the steering wheel, controlling the machine from the inside.

Music began to play very quietly. Fey, who was sitting next to Dimitri, gasped. They began to turn a nob in front of them, making the music grow louder.

“Why is the music in your car so damn quiet?!” Fey almost shouted as the music was at maximum volume.

David, who was sitting in the back of the car, almost jumped out of his seat when he heard the tune. “Fuck yeah!!” He shouted as he punched his fist through the air.

Emmanuel, who was sitting in the middle of the car, smiled. “This is our song, you guys,”

“Hah!” You shouted. You were sitting next to Emmanuel. “It was only your song for a few months before you met me! I taught you all of the words, because all you idiots knew was the chorus!”

“Shut up, (Y/N), it’s starting!” Dimitri shouted.

As the tempo of the loud music began to pick up, all of you began to sing really loud, and really off key.

_Baby, can't you see_

_I'm calling_

_A guy like you should wear a warning_

_It's dangerous_

_I'm falling_

_There's no escape_

_I can't wait_

_I need a hit_

_Baby, give me it_

_You're dangerous_

_I'm loving it_

_Too high_

_Can't come down_

_Losin' my head_

_Spinnin' 'round and 'round_

_Do you feel me now?_

“Here it comes!” Dimitri shouted excitedly as the rest of you cheered.

_Oh,_

_The taste of your lips_

_I'm on a ride_

_You're toxic I'm slippin' under_

_With a taste of a poison paradise_

_I'm addicted to you_

_Don't you know that you're toxic?_

_And I love what you do_

_Don't you know that you're toxic?_

Tauriel couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight as you all were singing off key, and having fun. As the car came to a stop light, the people in the car to your right looked at you all strangely. David opened up the car window, and practically shouted the words of the song playing.

“OH, THE TASTE OF YOUR LIPS, I’M ON A RIDE!!” David poked his head out of the window. “YOU’RE TOXIC I’M SLIPPING UNDER!!”

The rest of you began to laugh hysterically as he continued.

“WITH A TASTE OF POISON PARADISE!! I’M ADDICTED TO YOU, DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TOXIC!!?”

The light turned green, and Dimitri began to drive again, but David continued to scream the song at the people to your right even as the car moved forward.

“AND I LOVE WHAT YOU DO, DON’T YOU KNOW THAT YOU’RE TOX- _IICCCC!!!_ ”

Then David sat down in his seat like nothing happened. After everyone settled down from laughing at David, you spoke.

“Where’s Brandi?” You asked. “Fey, she’s _your_ sister, where is she?”

Fey scoffed as they rolled their eyes. “We left her at home,”

You raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Without missing a beat, everyone in the car said in unison: “Because she’s an asshole,”

“And she’s not even in the orchestra, genius,” Ryan added.

You rolled your eyes. “Would all of you please stop talking shit about my girlfriend?”

Tauriel was taken by surprise. Was Brandi the girl that you told her about in the wine cellar?

“Oh relax, (Y/N),” David pats you on the shoulder. “Brandi has her own car, she wouldn’t carpool with us even if she wanted to,”

You nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s true,”

Emmanuel sighed. “Look, we’re fine with you dating Brandi. Just because we don’t like her, doesn’t mean that you can’t,”

Dimitri nodded as he steered the car to the right. “Yeah, girl. You do you, ya know?”

David suddenly became very serious. “But we want you to be careful. You’re almost eighteen, and she’s twenty. We all just want you to be safe, alright?”

You nodded, seemingly feeling better by your friend’s words.

The car came to a stop as Dimitri parked it. “Alright, everyone get their shit from the trunk, we’re already ten minutes late for practice,”

The scene began to change. Tauriel already knew how much time had passed. Ten hours.

It was nighttime. Tauriel stood in front of a small building. The sign read “The Crescent Moon.” The “C” was flickering rapidly, and the “n” had burnt out. An azure blue moon with a seductively smiling woman hung over the neon lettering. The building was constructed from large grey stones, and the door was the sole feature. It seemed to suck the nearby people in. They were drawn to the velvet ropes and the lone man guarding the front door. Several men were lined up behind him, waiting for their chance to get in.

Tauriel saw you and Brandi walk up to the place. You seemed nervous to go in.

“I don’t know,” You murmured.

Brandi scoffed. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. No one in this club actually gives a shit who gets in or out, just as long no little kids go in,”

“As far as they’re concerned, I _am_ a little kid,” You shot back.

Brandi put an arm around you. “You look old enough, it’s okay. Hell, I’m not legally old enough to go in,” She smiled. “Stop being so paranoid, (Y/N),”

You slowly nodded as you held your head higher. Tauriel looked around, noticing how uninviting every other building on this street looked. Brandi grabbed you by the hand, pulling you into the club. The burly man at the front door both of you pass without asking any questions, which surprised you greatly.

As Tauriel walked into the dark night club, her senses were assaulted by the smell of smoke. She began to notice the layout of the club as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. People were relaxing at tables and enjoying their drinks. Others were smoking, and a few seemed to be passing small pills out. The people that chose to dance to the music were sweating in a large crowd on the dance floor. The warm air carried their musky odor throughout the club.

Brandi slid into a barstool, with you following close behind to sit next to her. Brandi gets the bartender’s attention, she said something that Tauriel couldn’t make out. The bartender carried two drinks in her hands, and set them both down in front of the two of you.

Brandi chugged back the small drink without any trouble. You hesitantly grabbed the drink and took a sip. It burned. Oh, how that drink burned. You choked and coughed, wishing the fluid was out of you.

Brandi laughed at you. “Oh my God, (Y/N)! Have you never had vodka before?!”

You coughed as you managed to squeeze out: “No...”

Tauriel began to grow angry at Brandi laughing at your discomfort.

Brandi ordered another drink for you and handed it to you. “Here. This should be easier for you to handle,”

You took a sip. You found that you liked the drink, and you drank the whole thing. You could feel warmth spreading from your stomach to the rest of your body. The drink Brandi gave you was making you feel a little light headed. You also became fascinated by the neon lights surrounding the dance floor along the ceiling. Several red, blue, purple, and green beams were refracted into dozens of dots on the dance floor.

Brandi supplied you with drink after drink. Tauriel began to worry about you, for you were beginning to look sick.

“Brandi...” You mumbled. “I like you...” You smiled sluggishly, “...a lot...”

Brandi smirked. “You should...”

Her lips crushed against yours. She languidly runs her hands up your sides as you continue your gentle but passionate exchange, eventually bringing them to rest behind your neck.

Tauriel had to look away. She couldn’t stand the sight of you kissing someone else. It hurt to even think about it. She wished that she was in Brandi’s position right now, and that you were kissing her instead.

You and Brandi parted from your kiss as you pulled away rather quickly. Suddenly, you leaned over, and vomited all over the floor.

Brandi gave you a pat on the back as you were hunched over. “Looks like you can’t hold you liquor, sweetheart,”

You laugh drunkenly. “Ish your fault,” You slurred. “You know I can’t handle anyshing...”

Brandi helped you up. “There you go. You’re staying at my place until you can get yourself straightened out,”

After a moment of consideration, you nodded. “Okay...”

Brandi helped you walk out of the night club. As she got you into her black car, she talked to you.

“You don’t have any orchestra shit going on tomorrow, right?”

You nodded sluggishly. “No...”

Brandi smiled as she buckled you into the passenger seat. “Good. You should be able to go to your next practice without being hung over,”

You smiled as you gave her a weak thumbs up. “Cool beans...”

You promptly passed out in the car seat after that.

The scene changed again. Tauriel knew that it was two days later.

She was now in front of a massive house. It was still nighttime, and the streets were lined with many lighted street lamps. She saw Dimitri’s car pull up into the street. The door slid open, and you stepped out with your instrument case. You must’ve made a full recovery after your night at the club, and you managed to get to the orchestra hall without any problems. You said goodbye as you shut the sliding car door. You waved them goodbye as they drove away. You walked up the driveway up to the house.

A man dressed in a fine suit opened the door for you. You smiled at him as he closed the door behind you. Tauriel couldn’t believe what the inside of your home looked like. It had polished hardwood floors, crystal chandeliers in the extravagant kitchen. Spiral staircases made of the strongest oak, and carpets and furniture made of the finest material.

You looked at, what Tauriel assumes to be, the Butler.

“How bad is she, Heathcliff?” You asked him.

Heathcliff sighed. “She’s upstairs. She payed the bills and payed the housekeeping staff with the last of the money you made from Hollywood. Until she...”

“Got drunk?” You finished for him.

Heathcliff nodded. “She’s been smoking, too,” He explained. “She tried to open the window to let the smoke out, but it hardly helps,”

You nodded to him. “Thanks, Heathcliff. You and everyone else can go home for the day,”

Heathcliff smiled. “Everyone already left,”

You smiled warmly when you realized that Heathcliff stayed late for you. After Heathcliff left, you went upstairs, leaving your instrument in the living room. Tauriel followed you up the staircase.

“Mom?” You opened to door to a bedroom.

Tauriel was immediately slapped in the face with the smell of smoke. This wasn’t the normal kind of smoke from a fire. This was from tobacco, and it was much, much stronger than any in Middle Earth.

Your mother was sprawled out on the bed, a bottle of clear alcohol in one hand, and a small lit cigarette in the other.

“Mom!” You took the lit cigarette from her hand and put it out with your shoe. You grabbed your mother by the shoulder, and helped lift her up from the bed. You walked her out of the room, and onto a plush couch in another room.

“Mom, you know better than this!” You scolded her.

Your mother sighed. “I’m sorry, honey,” There was a slur in her voice. “It was a rough night,”

You sighed. “Mom, you have to pitch in around the house. The last of my money from Hollywood is gone, and I barely make any money at the concert hall. You need to get a job,”

Your mother waved you off. “I know, I know,” She mumbled.

“You say that all the time,” You hissed. “If you don’t start to help, then we’re going to loose this house! We’re going to loose _dad’s_ house,”

Your words made an impact on your mother. She hung her head as she stared at the floor.

You sighed. “Look, I’m going to work on some scores, and see if I can make a few bucks off of it online,”

You walked away, down the hall, and into your bedroom. In your room, there was a desk. Tauriel followed you to your desk. Empty sheets of paper sat alongside pens and pencils, a metronome, and several books on music theory. You didn’t seem to need the books though, as you plopped down in your chair, and began to write some notes on a paper. Tauriel saw that the song you were writing wasn’t given a name yet.

You composed bits and pieces of several songs, for the thoughts in your head were scattered. You knew it was a little hypocritical to give your mom shit for drinking, when you had just snuck out a couple nights ago to do the same.

After a few hours, you had fallen asleep on your desk. Your head was propped up by your left hand, and your left elbow was resting on the desk. You still had a fountain pen in your hand as you were sleeping. You had earbuds in your ears, which was still playing music after all these hours.

It was about four in the morning, when Tauriel was beginning to smell something. It was smoke. But, this was a stronger smell than the kind from your mother’s cigarettes. You seemed to smell it to, because you woke up, and you sniffed the air.

You brushed your hair back with your fingers as you sleepily stumbled to your door. You reached for the metal handle. You touched it, and you let out a loud yelp as you ripped your hand away.

“Hot!” You shouted. You took off your sweatshirt, and tied it over your hand. You quickly turned the knob, and opened the door. A wave of heat washed over you as your senses were assaulted with smoke.

The house was on fire.

You ripped your earbuds out. It was then when you heard the smoke alarms. The heat was horrible, but worse than the heat was the smoke, which threatened to suffocate you at any moment. You pulled the top of your shirt up over your nose.

You coughed as you waved your hand in front of you, trying to wave the smoke away. “Mom!” You shouted. You were never this scared before, Tauriel could tell. A look of pure terror was in your eyes. “MOM!”

It was then, you saw it. Your eyes widened. Your mother was still on the couch, but the fire had gotten to her. Her body was completely charred, and the smell of cooked flesh lingered in the air. In her hand hanging over the couch, was a single. Burnt. Cigarette.

Your eyes filled with tears when you realized what must have happened. The cigarette started the fire.

“NOOOO!”

Tauriel had never heard such an agonizing cry of anguish from anyone ever before. She released her own cry of terror as she saw the bottom of your shirt catch on fire.

You released a deep throat-shredding cry of agony. You tried to pat it out, but your short skirt caught on fire as well. You screamed as your flesh burned away.

“(Y/N)!” Tauriel cried out. She couldn’t stand idly by when you were burning to death. Her instincts kicked in. She reached out to you, to help you, but her hand passed through your burning form like mist.

A new smell pervaded the air. To Tauriel, it just smelled like rotten eggs, but to you, it smelled like something else. Something far more dangerous.

A gas leak.

Despite your burning clothes, you ran full speed towards the window. Just as you jumped, a huge explosion let out behind you. The sheer force of it flung you forward violently, and sent you crashing through the window. The glass cut your skin in many places. You screamed as you fell from the second floor window, watching the explosion grow farther and farther away from you.

You landed hard in your grassy front yard. You screamed in agony as your wrist broke upon impact. You had a huge cut across your forehead from the glass. Blood spilt from the wound, and into your eyes and mouth, making your vision blurry and red. The fire on your clothes was still there, but only in small flames, like the fire of a dying candle. The cloth itself was a charred black, half of it burned away.

The flesh on your stomach was a brilliant red covered with blisters. The burned area covered your whole stomach, but it stopped at the middle of your rib cage. The top of your thighs were burned severely as well. Your calves weren’t as bad as your other injuries, only a few blisters. None of the skin was blackened. That was a good sign.

You lay sprawled on your back, trembling, and light-headed, gasping for air. Suddenly, you rolled over, and you vomited heavily. Crouching on your unbroken hand and knees, you retch until there's nothing left to come up.

You breath heavily for a few moments, before you vomit again. This time it's an acidic substance that scalds your throat and makes its way into your nose as well. You’re forced to stop as your body convulses, trying desperately to rid itself of the poisons you’ve been sucking in from the fire. The force of the retching has squeezed tears out of your stinging eyes.

Tauriel wanted more than anything to help you. She wanted to rush to your side, carry you to an infirmary or a hospital. Every fiber of her being was desperate to save you, but she knew she couldn’t. This was the past, and she was merely a spectator. All she could do, was watch.

You dropped too the floor on your side, the metallic taste of your own blood and vomit filling your mouth.

“I’m sorry, dad...” You whisper as you lay there on the grass.

Tauriel heard loud, piercing sirens getting closer and closer. Red and blue lights were visible. Black and white cars pull up, along with a huge red car shaped like a cube with the word ‘ambulance’ written in white letters on the side. The people put you on a stretcher as they loaded you into the back of the ambulance.

The scene before Tauriel melted away, but instead of a new scene, it was just pitch black wherever she looked. She felt a presence behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“I... I don’t want to see anymore,” Tauriel said as she hung her head.

“You wanted to know what happened to (Y/N), didn’t you?” Kulkodar asked from behind her.

Tauriel squeezed tears out of her eyes. “I didn’t think I would see it all before me,” A pause. “There’s a reason why she didn’t tell me any of this,” The elf said. “She didn’t want me to know any of this...”

Kulkodar nodded. “You are right. Do you know why?” Tauriel could feel Kulkodar’s smirk. “Because she is a _coward!”_

Tauriel’s eyes burned with rage as she snapped her head around. “Don’t you DARE-!”

She stopped. Kulkodar was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used is ‘Toxic’ by Britanny Spears, but you already knew that


	16. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Abuse

Tauriel snapped her head around her, looking for Kulkodar in the pitch black. The black walls began to melt before her eyes. As the darkness melted away like ice, a scene was laced out before it. Tauriel couldn’t see it clearly because of the remaining blackness was still clinging onto the invisible wall like water marks on glass.

Tauriel walked closer towards the blackness, and found that she could walk past them like trees in a forest. The scene behind the blackness, was a white room. You were laying in the bed, hooked up with advanced medical equipment Tauriel had never seen before. This must have been a hospital.

You were asleep with, a black screen with a green line on it next to you was pulsing every second or so. A bag of liquid was held up on a small pole. It had a tube running from the bottom of it. At the bottom of the small tube, was a needle, which was injected into the crook of your inner forearm. Your wrist was covered with a thick, hard, white cast.

The door in front of you opened. David, Dimitri, Emmanuel, Ryan, and Fey all quietly came into the room. David had a generous supply of colorful flowers in his arms, and a few balloons that said, ‘Get well soon!’

David set the gifts down on the small wooden table next to you. As he did this, you stirred. You groaned as you opened your eyes, shielding them from the bright lights of the hospital.

“Guys?” You managed to whisper.

Almost immediately, your friends nearly shouted in joy and relief as they all one by one gently gave you a hug.

“Thanks for visiting me...” You smiled weakly.

“How you feelin’?” Emmanuel asked.

You chuckled dryly. “Like shit,”

Your friends chuckled softly.

Fey gently took your hand in their own. “What happened?”

Tauriel saw tears begging to form in your eyes as you tried to squeeze the words out of your throat. “My mom... she was smoking and...” You sniffed. “I think she fell asleep, and the cigarette she was holding was still flaming and...” You throat constricted as you let out a choked sob.

They all understood what you were trying to say. All of your friends came closer to you, and pulled you in for a gentle group hug. You smiled through your tears as you hugged them all back. “I love you guys... so much...”

Tauriel almost felt like crying herself. In all her years, she had never seen a group of people share such a strong bond of friendship.

David cleared his throat. “I know it’s your birthday soon, so I got you an early birthday present,” He reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a blue bracelet. It had a silver moon charm attached to it.

Tauriel looked at the bracelet on her own wrist that you had given her. So it was David who gave you the bracelet.

You burst into tears as you hugged David fiercely. “Thank you so, so, sooo much!”

David smiled as he hugged you back. “It was my mom’s bracelet,”

You parted from the hug as you held up the bracelet. “David. This is from the dollar store. I’ve seen it before,”

David shook his head. “Nope. Totally my mom’s,”

You rolled your eyes and laughed. “Okay, whatever you say,”

The scene began to change again. It looked like a few hours had passed, because your friends had left. The flowers and balloons they left you were still on the table next to you.

The lights were turned off, and you were sleeping, the green line on the black screen beside you pulsing along with your heart.

The door opened. You stirred as your eyes adjusted to the dark.

“Brandi...” You smiled.

As Brandi walked up to your bed, Tauriel couldn’t help but scowl. She didn’t trust this woman. Not one bit.

Brandi tried to lean in to kiss you, but you stopped her. “I’m not feeling up to it,” You said gently.

Brandi rolled her eyes. “Fine,” She propped herself up on her elbows. “You feeling okay?”

“A little better,”

Brandi smiled. “I knew you would be okay. You’re tough as nails, you can handle anything,”

“What time is it?” You asked.

“About nine at night,” Brandi answered. “Visiting hours are almost over,”

“Cutting it kinda close, don’t you think?”

Brandi scoffed. “Nah, it’s fine,” She shifted her position as she looked you dead in the eye. “Look (Y/N), I know that this seems out of nowhere, but seeing that you don’t have anywhere to live, that you could move in with me?”

You looked surprised. “Move in with you?”

Brandi smiled. “Yeah! I mean, my apartment isn’t much, but there’s enough room for two. Walls are almost completely soundproof too,”

“Are you sure?”

Brandi kissed you right on the mouth. She pulled away with a smile. “Absolutely,” She quickly caressed your chin before standing up. “Now you get some rest. I’ll be back when the doctors say you’re ready to leave,”

You beamed. “Okay! See you then!”

Brandi threw you a wink before shutting the door behind her as she left.

Tauriel didn’t like this. She had a bad feeling about all of this.

The scene changed again. It was a few months later. Brandi was walking down a sidewalk along a busy street. She was wearing a nice black shirt and tie, with a large leather bag strapped to her shoulder. She looked irritated and tired as she walked swiftly, She went inside of a tall building with many windows. An older man was sitting in a desk that Brandi walked past.

“Brandi,” The man said, making her stop in her tracks. “We’ve been getting some noise complaints,”

Brandi rolled her eyes. “Stan, It’s the room next to us! He’s playing his guitar at two in the fucking morning at full volume! My walls are soundproof, remember?”

Stan nodded his head as he returned to reading his book. “Alright, we’ll look into that,”

Tauriel heard Brandi mutter something under her breath along the lines of: ‘You never fucking do,’

Brandi stepped into an elevator. It was creaky, it only had one dim light, and it smelled like spoiled milk. Brandi either didn’t mind the smell, or had just gotten used to it.

She pressed a glowing button with the number ‘14’ on it. The slow and creaky elevator began its journey upwards. The doors parted open, and Brandi walked down a hallway. The hallway walls were a pale yellow, and the door on either side of the hallway were painted a dull red. Some doors had some kind of flare, like flowers or some stickers, but most were plain red.

Brandi came to the end of the hallway as she pulled her keys out of her pocket. She almost jammed the key into the keyhole. As she went inside the apartment, she slammed the door behind her and dropped her bag onto the floor.

Tauriel was shocked when she saw the apartment. It was the most beautiful interior she had ever seen. She was almost convinced that this room wasn’t even in the same dreary building.

“Hey!” You smiled as you approached Brandi. You still wore a cast on your wrist. “How was work?”

She groaned as she loosened her tie and threw in on the floor. “Fucking awful,”

You frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry,” You smiled a little bit. “But I might have something that-”

“Why don’t I smell anything?” Brandi interrupted you. “Why don’t I smell dinner?”

You fidgeted with your hands. “Well, since you’ve been so stressed lately, I thought that we should go out for dinner!” You nearly bounced up and down in excitement.

“Are you nuts?” Brandi responded. Your smiled disappeared immediately. “We can’t waste money on anything that isn’t essential. Going to a fucking restaurant isn’t essential, is it (Y/N)?”

You shook your head as you looked to the ground.

“Coming back to a nice home cooked meal should not be too much to expect,” Brandi continued. “What could you possibly be doing all day that it would be too difficult for you to make something by the time I get home?”

You shrink. “I’m sorry...”

“Did you forget that I provide everything you need? Is it not enough that I work my hands down to the bone for us!?”

You backed away. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should’ve asked you about going out first. I-I’ll make dinner right now...”

Brandi sighed. “No, no. I’ll do it,” She sighed again as she went into the kitchen. “I already do everything, so why not to this too, huh?”

The scene began to change. As it did, Tauriel felt her anger at Brandi rise up. How dare she scold you for something that wasn’t even that big of a deal?

The scene changed again. Six months have passed. Brandi unlocked the door to the beautiful apartment and walked inside. She was wearing the black suit again.

The woman’s eyes go around the room as she closes the door behind her, until they fall upon you. You didn’t have your cast on anymore, and your fractured wrist was completely healed. You look as gorgeous as ever. You seemed startled by her presence, turning around suddenly, wide eyed and... frightened.

“Oh! You’re home early!” You hid something behind your back. “I-I still have so much to do, like making dinner and-”

“What’s that?” Brandi demands.

“Um...” You hold out a very nicely made black jacket. “It’s your Valentine’s day present. I didn’t have time to wrap it up, but-”

“How did you get this?!”

You shrank. “Well, I had some extra money stored away,”

Brandi’s eyes bore into you. “You’re hiding money from me?”

Your eyes widen with fear. “N-no, no, I swear!”

Brandi snatched the jacket from your hands. “How did you even get the money for this? You’re working some side job under my nose again, aren’t you?” Brandi slammed the jacket onto the ground. “I told you that you’re not supposed to go out of this apartment alone! And you especially can’t go to the concert hall anymore! That’s a waste of valuable time!”

You began to tremble. “Please! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Do _not_ interrupt me!”

You let out a whimper. “I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to break your rule. I know you said to never do it, I just—”

You are silenced with a quick strike across the face, dazing you. Your legs buckle and you fall to the floor with a meaty thump. Your legs curl in defensively as you whimper.

“I-I promise I’ll never do it again,” You sobbed, trying to back away from Brandi.

“NO!” Tauriel screamed. She hurled a fist towards Brandi, but like before, it went through her like mist.

Brandi looms over your crumpled form as you cower in fear from her very presence. She pins you firmly to the floor with her boot.

You screamed out as the hard boot digs into the middle of your back, “NO! PLEASE! DON’T—”

You are cut off as the boot digs into your back further. You cry out in pain as a crack is heard from your back.

“No! What are you doing!? STOP IT!” Tauriel couldn’t do anything but scream at your attacker.

Brandi smirked in satisfaction as you scream like that. Your eyes fill with panic and pain and a jolt of excitement runs down Brandi’s spine. She dug her boot even further, reveling in the delicious scream that followed.

You screamed in panic and pain as tears formed in your eyes.

Tauriel had never felt so helpless. Her cries for Brandi to stop fell on deaf ears. “NO!”

“PLEASE!” You sobbed in desperation. “PLEASE STOP! I’M SORRY, PLEASE JUST STOP!” As the boot made your spine crack, you screamed once more.

“BRANDI!”

Tauriel reached out to you. “(Y/N)!!” Just as she reached you, both you and Brandi disappeared like smoke.

Tauriel couldn’t believe what she had just seen. How could Brandi treat you like this? How could anyone treat anybody like this?

Nausea overpowers her, and she retches. Bile burns her throat. Her insides knot at the thought of Brandi’s hands on you like that. Those panic-stricken, tortured cries… Brandi... Brandi _liked_ that… Her stomach churns and seizes, and a wave of bile explodes from her mouth again.

The scene warped again. It was the next day. Brandi unlocked the door to the apartment again, letting herself inside. But she soon found the apartment empty. She looked in every room, and looked around in other apartments. She couldn’t find you. Both you, and all of your belongings were gone.

Brandi angrily punched the wall, leaving a large dent. Tauriel couldn’t help but smile. You left Brandi. Good.

Then Brandi smirked to herself. She chuckled as she poured herself an alcoholic drink. She took a sip as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

“She’ll be back,” She said into her cup.

The scene warped. Tauriel was in a small house. It seemed very cozy and welcoming. She saw Fey putting some streamers on the walls of the kitchen. This must be Fey’s house, Tauriel reasoned. Fey’s hair was different. Instead of multiple long braids, their hair was poofy.

As soon as Fey was done, they walked into a room, flipping the light switch as they entered.

“How you feeling, (Y/N)?” Fey asked.

You were laying on a bed on your side. All of your belonging from your apartment were piled up on the floor next to the bed.

You shrugged. “I’m okay. Thanks for letting me stay here, Fey,”

Fey sat on the bed next to you. “Of course,” They sighed. “I’m so sorry about what happened. If any of us had known about what Brandi was doing...”

“Fey, it’s okay,” You mumbled. “She wouldn’t let me talk to any of you. There’s no way you would have known,”

Fey brushed their poofy hair back. “Everyone’s coming over tonight. It’s David’s birthday today,”

You let yourself crack a smile. “I know,”

Fey smiled as well. “We’re having a party. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” They quickly added. “Just... stay here for as long as you want. Come join us when you’re ready, okay?”

You nodded. “Okay...”

Just then, the doorbell rang, followed with a knock at the door. Fey stood up, turned off the lights to the room, and quietly shut the door behind them.

The scene warped again. Music was playing over speakers as Fey, David, Emmanuel, Dimitri and Ryan were all chatting amongst each other on the sofa. They each had a drink in their hand, and David was laying upside down on the couch, with a cheap pink party hat strapped to his head.

“I’m gonna fucking kill Brandi the next time I see her,” David’s words were slurred.

Dimitri nodded as he took a sip of his drink. “Count me in,”

“How’s (Y/N)?” Ryan asked Fey.

Fey shook their head. “She’s resting. I told her to join us if she wanted to, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen,”

Hours went by, and eventually, everyone had to leave. Fey said goodbye to everyone as they all left. As Fey was taking down the streamers from the ceiling, they heard a loud thump in another room.

“(Y/N)?” They began to walk towards your room. “(Y/N), are you okay?”

The moment Fey entered the room, they gasped as their eyes widened. You were sprawled out on the bed, with many empty bottles of alcohol surrounding you. You were chugging a large bottle of booze as Fey snatched it away from you.

“(Y/N)!” They scolded you. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

You sat up quickly. “I’m going back...”

“W-What?”

“I’m going back to Brandi,”

Tauriel was taken aback. Why would you go back to her after all that she’s done to you? Fey seemed to feel the same way, because they gasped and widened their eyes.

“No,” They said firmly, “No fucking way,”

You sluggishly pushed them away from you. “I just called an Uber a while ago. It would be here any minute...”

Fey grabbed you by the shoulders and looked you dead in the eye. “(Y/N), you’re drunk. You’re not thinking straight,”

You pushed Fey away, “I’m thinking perfectly straight! I should’ve never left...” Your words were more slurred and sluggish than ever before. “She provided everything for me... If I had just stayed... If I had stayed and loved her enough, she would have changed. But I ran away... I need to go back so I can love her again. So she can change...”

Fey was beginning to yell at you in desperation. “NO! My sister is a fucking abusive bitch! She won’t change!”

You punched Fey square in the nose. They stumbled backwards, clutching their bloody nose as they looked at you in shock.

“Fuck you...” You took another swig of booze.

The honk of a car horn was heard from outside. You shoved Fey out of the way. Fey wore the same shocked and saddened expression as you sauntered out of the house, and into the black car.

“1636 Gunner Avenue,” You told the driver as you threw a wad of cash at him. “And hurry,”

The driver picked up the money from the car floor. “Yes ma’am,”

The scene began to fade around Tauriel as she stared at the car in shock.

“No...” She remembered what you told her in the wine cellar. You went back to your ex, and you said it was the worst decision of your life.

Tauriel was at Brandi’s apartment door again. You rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. The moment the door was opened, you nearly fell into Brandi’s arms.

“I’m so sorry, baby...” You looked up at her. “I shouldn’t have left,”

“(Y/N), no!” Tauriel shouted.

Brandi smiled at you as she caressed your cheek. “All is forgiven, (Y/N),”

“Stop!” Tauriel was growing desperate. She couldn’t believe that she was watching you make the worst decision of your life, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

You kissed Brandi full on the mouth, who returned it as she closed the apartment door and locked it.

“(Y/N), stop it!” Tauriel tried to get you off of Brandi, but her hand went through like mist.

Brandi opened a door to a bedroom. The two of you made your way closer to the bed as you pulled at each other’s clothes. Brandi pinned you to the bed as she kissed your neck roughly.

“(Y/N) NO!” Tauriel tried everything she could to stop what was happening, but she couldn’t. She was just a ghost in the room. “(Y/N) STOP IT! SHE’S NOT GOOD FOR YOU!” Tears began to stream down her face as she screamed.

“(Y/N)!!”


	17. Blood on Your Hands

Tauriel stared into the empty void, her tears stale on her face. She couldn’t believe what she had just seen. She didn’t want to see anymore.

But alas, Kulkodar seemed to have other plans. The black inky void began to transform into Brandi’s apartment.

You and Brandi were asleep on the bed, the blanket covering up your naked bodies. You began to stir. Your eyes slowly opened as you took in your surroundings. Your eyes grew panicked as you practically jumped out of the bed.

Brandi seemed to hear this, and began to sit up as well.

“Brandi?” You began to hyperventilate. “I-I, wait! No, no… no, no, no, NO, NO, NO—”

“What’s wrong, (Y/N)?” Brandi asked as she put a shirt over her head. “I thought you missed me. That’s why you came back, right?”

Your mind began to go a million miles an hour. You didn’t remember a thing from the other night. Why did you come back? It didn’t make any sense!

“NO!” You threw a flower vase straight at Brandi. It missed her head as it shattered upon impact against the wall.

As you ran, you grabbed the closest shirt and pants you could find. You threw the shirt over your head, and put on the shorts as you changed from a run and to a skip. The moment you reached the door, Brandi tackled you to the ground.

You began to panic as you struggled against her. But she pinned you firmly to the ground.

“Oh no,” She hissed. “You’re not leaving me this time,”

You began to scream at the top of your lungs for help. Suddenly, Brandi punched you square in the face. Blood spurted out of your nose, and your head fell back onto the floor. You were knocked out cold.

The scene changed again. You were strapped in a wooden chair. All of your limbs were tied to the chair with thick duct tape. Your nose was still flowing with blood, covering your mouth and staining your teeth red. You thrashed around, trying to set yourself free.

“I didn’t want to do this, (Y/N),” Brandi sighed. “But you’ve given me no choice,”

Pain. Excruciating, burning pain is all you could feel. The restraints dug into your skin as you cried.

“Please...” You whimpered. “Stop...”

Brandi grabbed your chin and forced you to look up. “You never get the whole picture. You never understand why this is necessary. You need to be taught a lesson,”

Brandi kissed your blood coated lips. “I’m doing this because I love you...”

Tauriel felt sick. Brandi was doing all of this in the name of love? This wasn’t love. This was despicable! Vile! Evil! It was the most wicked thing Tauriel had ever witnessed.

“I love you, (Y/N),” Brandi continued. “I’ve always loved you. Why can’t you understand this? I sacrificed my whole world for you!” Brandi sighed. “But this is fine. You never did know what to do without me anyway, but it’s okay,” She kissed your forehead. “I’m here now,”

Brandi straightened her black tie on her business suit. “I have to go to work, Darling,” She took a strong strip of duct tape, and put it over your mouth. Your words were muffled as tears streamed down your face.

Brandi picked up her work bag. “I will be back from work at 10, okay?” She kissed your forehead again. “I love you,”

Suddenly, Brandi took the case she had in her hand, and clobbered you over the head with it. You went limp as you were knocked out cold instantly.

As Brandi left, she locked the apartment door behind her, insuring that you wouldn’t get out.

Hours passed. You soon began to come to. Your eyes bulge with terror, muffled screams emanating from your throat. You thrashed around violently, trying desperately to free yourself, but it was no use. You were locked in the bedroom, with no way out. You began to sob quietly as you hung your head.

You heard the front door beginning to unlock. You hung your head in defeat, waiting for the inevitable. Waiting for Brandi to come back in the room and do God knows what else.

“(Y/N)?”

Your head snapped up. That wasn’t Brandi... it was Fey!

You screamed as loud as you could through the duct tape as you made as much noise as possible with the chair you were tied to.

The bedroom door burst open, and Fey came running in. They ripped the duct tape off of your mouth. They fell to their knees as they held a knife to the duct tape holding you.

“Oh God,” They began to cut away at the bonds.

“Oh my God, Fey!” You sobbed. “Thank you!”

“We have to hurry,” Fey said. “Brandi’s going to be back home soon. In like, 10 minutes,”

The last of your bonds were cut away. You flung yourself at Fey, wrapping your arms around their neck. You sobbed into their shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Fey asked.

“Now that you’re here,” You smiled into their shoulder.

Fey stood up and grabbed your hand. “Let’s get out of here. The others are waiting for us in Dimitri’s car. We’re going to the police station, okay?”

“Why didn’t you call the police first?” You asked.

“We wanted to get you out first before Brandi did anything else to you,” Fey explained. “Let’s go,”

The two of you ran out of the apartment, not even bothering to shut the front door. It was night time, and most of your neighbors were either asleep, or lounging around in their apartments.

“Down the stairs!” You whisper shouted. “Brandi always takes the elevator! We might run into her if we take the elevator,”

Fey nodded as you both went down the stairs. Your heart had never beat so fast in your life. You had never felt this level of adrenaline surge through your veins.

As the two of you reached the second floor, you stopped to catch your breath.

“We... have to... keep moving...” Fey said in between pants.

BANG!

Fey’s eyes widened. They looked down. Blood began to spread on the wide of their white shirt. You cried out in terror as they fell to the ground, clutching their side.

Brandi was at the end of the hallway, a small handgun in her hand. You couldn’t believe it. Brandi shot her own sibling.

Before you could react, another gunshot rang out. Blood exploded from your arm as you cried out in agony. You fell to the ground hard, grasping at your bleeding bicep.

“You fucking whore!” Brandi shouted as she walked swiftly towards you. She took aim at you again.

“NO!”

Fey tackled Brandi to the ground, knocking the gun out of her hands. The two siblings wrestled with Fey on top.

“You abusive bitch!” Fey hissed.

Brandi growled and kneed Fey right in their gunshot wound. They cried out in pain before Brandi punched them in the face. Fey’s nose cracked as they fell to the ground. Before Fey could get up, Brandi grabbed them by the neck, and slammed them into the wall. Over and over and over again.

Blood began to pour from their mouth as the wall began to crack. Brandi kneed Fey in the stomach again, earning another gush of blood from the gunshot wound. Brandi crawled on top of them, and punched them in the face. And again. And again. And again.

You watched in horror as Fey was being beaten to a bloody pulp. You were frozen in fear. Your eyes fell to the gun on the floor.

“Stay away from us!” Brandi shouted in between punches. “She’s MINE!”

BANG!

Blood exploded from Brandi’s head as she went limp. She fell to the ground in a bloody heap with a loud thump. Fey’s eyes went wide. They turned their head to see you. You had Brandi’s gun in your hand.

You gasped as you dropped the gun. “I shot her...” You put a hand over your mouth. “I killed her!”

A terrible mix of a scream and a wail escaped your mouth as you fell to your knees. You looked up at Fey. You scrambled over to them.

“Fey...” You sobbed. “I’m sorry...”

At this point, people began to come out of their apartment, wondering what all the noise was about. They were all shocked and horrified at the scene before them. A woman was in the process of calling the police on her cell phone.

You whispered your friend’s name hoarsely.

Fey took your hand. “It’s okay... she’s gone now... you don’t have to worry about her anymore...”

Tears filled your eyes. “But... I’m not sure if I wanted her to leave...” You swallowed. “I didn’t want her to die...”

You continued to clutch onto Fey, putting pressure on their gunshot wound until an ambulance would arrive. But in your hurry to help Fey, you forgot about your own wound.

Your arm was bleeding to heavily. Your eyes began to grow heavy, and your arm became numb. Your vision went dark as you fell to the floor.

The scene faded to a dark cave. Tauriel was back in Middle Earth. She stood there, unmoving, trying to catch her breath. All she wanted right now is to bury her head in her hands; she didn’t want to feel anything.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

Tauriel yelled as she threw her dagger at the voice. Kulkodar dodged the knife. He didn’t even look interested.

“That poor girl...” Kulkodar continued. “It’s amazing what only one person could do to another. It’s amazing how much suffering could be made by one person,”

“Please stop talking to me...” Tauriel growled through her tears. “I didn’t want to see any of this!”

Kulkodar chuckled. “Oh, but you did, didn’t you?”

Tauriel’s eyes hardened. “Just leave me alone...”

“Already?” Kulkodar asked in mock sadness. “But I haven’t even finished,”

“I don’t want to see anymore of (Y/N)’s suffering!” Tauriel cried out. “I don’t want to see anymore of her world! I’m done,”

Kulkodar seemed to ignore Tauriel’s plea. “It all started in TA 1999,”

Tauriel’s attention seemed to be interested in this. She looked at Kulkodar.

“When Erebor was founded,” Kulkodar said. “The Star Emerald was found in the mines. Everyone thought it was just a ordinary gemstone, until on the eighth month of the year, the gem began to glow brightly. A miner saw the gem, and was amazed. He reached out to touch it. When he did, he disappeared out of thin air.

“The Lady Galadriel saw that the Star Emerald was too dangerous for Middle Earth, or any other realm. She cast it into the Void, never to be seen again. Until only a few months ago, there was a rip in the Void, and the Emerald fell through it. It fell right in front of a small house. (Y/N)’s house,”

“So that’s how (Y/N) came to be in Middle Earth...” Tauriel finished.

Kulkodar nodded. “Yes. You see, many have searched for the Star Emerald for centuries, only for a common human girl from Earth to find it,”

“Why would people want it?” Tauriel asked.

“Many sought out the gem, thinking it would give them power. But they are wrong. It does not give power to anyone,”

Tauriel exhaled sharply. “Why are you telling me this?”

Kulkodar clasped her shoulder. “I’m trying to make you understand,”

Tauriel looked at him, confused. “Understand?”

He nodded. With a wave of his hand, transparent blue images of surrounded them.

“What I’ve shown you, is only a mere glimpse of Earth’s corruption,”

Tauriel couldn’t believe her eyes. Images of war surrounded her. But this was unlike any war she had ever seen. The ground was exploding, soldiers were firing huge guns, innocent people screaming as they were killed where they stood. It was as if the world was coming to an end.

Kulkodar continued. “But this could change. I could bring Earth to the light. I could bring all realms to the light. I could stop all the suffering, all the pain, and I could destroy the darkness that plagues the universe,” He looked at the She-elf, “I showed you all of this, so you could understand why this is necessary. So you could understand why I need the Star Emerald,”

Tauriel’s head shot up at the mention of the Emerald. “What?”

“With the Star Emerald, I could bring all realms together. I could bring them all into my light,”

“The light?” Tauriel asked. “What do you mean?”

“I will make all worlds anew. I see the universe, so ensnared in grief and rage and pain...and I will bring them to the light,” Kulkodar began to speak in an unnaturally blissful tone of voice. “I will set them all free... forever. A universe of peace, without end,”

The way Kulkodar was speaking... it set Tauriel on edge. “What do you mean? Give me a straight answer!”

“I’ve already told you...” Kulkodar smiled. “I will purge every world of darkness. But of course... everything in existence relishes in the darkness. I will rid of them, and let everything start over again,”

Tauriel was horrified. “What?! You can’t do that!”

He looked at her. “You’ve seen the darkness of Earth, and you hated it. Wouldn’t you want to set it right? Wouldn’t you want to rid the planet of all evil?”

Tauriel hesitated. Yes it was true, she did want to rid everyone of evil. But then, she thought about your friends. She thought of Fey. How they risked their life for you, and how they helped you. How they saved you.

“No,” Tauriel said with determination, “There may be darkness, but there is more good than bad! The peace you speak of, isn’t peace at all. It is destruction! I will never help you! You will never get the Star Emerald!”

Kulkodar sighed. “Oh, Tauriel. You are not unlike everyone else of this planet. I’m disappointed. I thought after all I’ve shown you, you would understand. But alas, you still wish to dwell in darkness,” He chuckled. “But it matters not,”

A blue image surrounded Tauriel. Her eyes widened as she gasped in fear. It was you! You were curled up in a ball in your bed, your eyes were red and puffy from crying. You had bags under your eyes that were as dark as the night.

“(Y/N)...” Tauriel whispered.

Kulkodar chuckled. “Yes. Since you will not get me the Emerald, the human girl will,”

Tauriel almost growled. “No she won’t!”

Kulkodar scoffed. “You really don’t know anything, do you? She is infected by the very arrow she saved you from. Every minute she loses a part of herself. Every minute, her psyche chips away. Soon, she will have completely surrendered to the infection, and she will have no choice but to do my bidding,”

“Why... why are you doing this to her?!”

Kulkodar sighed. “I would rather not have to do this. I would have rather not used dark magic. But it is necessary. When the Emerald is mine, I will set her free from the darkness, and she will be brought into the light,”

Tauriel’s eyes stung with unshed tears. “You won’t have her! She can fight it!”

“If you truly believe that...” Kulkodar’s eyes began to glow. “Then you are a _fool_. You cannot stop me,” His hands begin to crackle with electricity. “I will reign triumphant over all the universe. It is... _destiny,”_

Suddenly, Kulkodar’s form was shrouded in a violent cloud of black. Tauriel’s hair whipped from the intense winds as she watched in fear. The cloud dissipated, and Kulkodar was gone.

Her mind went into a panic when she remembered you. She remembered what Kulkodar had said. You were losing a part of yourself every minute. You would soon surrender to the infection. She would lose you.

Without another thought, Tauriel sprinted out of the dark cave. She looked around frantically until her eyes found a brown horse. He was without a rider, for the rider had been shot by an arrow, and was lying dead on the ground.

Tauriel ran and jumped onto its saddle. She snapped the reins as she urged the horse. The horse neighed as it’s front hooves lolled in the air. The horse began to run, its powerful hooves pounding on the ground.

Tauriel rode towards Mirkwood without breaking her stride. She was going to save you, before it was too late.


	18. Infection

You trudged your way through the hallways. After night after night of horrible nightmares, you couldn’t tell the difference between a dream, and what was real. You saw Edol everywhere. In the corner of your eye when you wandered the hallways, in the shadows when you tried to fall asleep, and in your dreams, where he would torture you, and you could feel everything.

He was there when you were awake. When you thought that you were safe. You could see him as clearly as you could see any other elf in Mirkwood. You didn’t know what to do.

You wandered into the kitchen, where elves were preparing breakfast. You hadn’t eaten in a while, and you were starving. You couldn’t wait any longer. You stanched an apple from a bowl, and bit into it with a loud crunch.

_“Hey, (Y/N),”_

You froze. You knew that voice all too well.

“No...” You shook your head. “No. Go away,”

_“Aww I came all this way, and this is how you treat an old friend?”_

You grit your teeth. “You are NOT my friend, Edol,”

_“Oh come now, (Y/N). You’ll hurt my feelings,”_

You slammed your fist on the counter. “GO AWAY!” You screamed as you spun around to face Edol.

Your eyes widened in shock. In front of you, wasn’t Edol. It was an elf maiden. She seemed shocked by your words. You felt guilt shoot into your body. You just yelled at her, and she didn’t even do anything.

Without another word, you ran out of the room, and into another section of the kitchen.

_“I’m hurt, (Y/N). You won’t even look at me,”_

You scoffed. “Why would I want to look at you? After what you did to me?” You growled. “Why am I even talking to you? You’re not really there. Right now, it looks like I’m talking to the wall. This isn’t a dream. This is the real world, and you can’t exist out here. Just give up, and leave me alone, Edol!”

_“You’re acting like you’re so sure,”_

“What?”

_“I tire of this, (Y/N). You’ve been trying so hard to put on a brave face. But I know the truth. Deep down, you’re just a scared little girl,”_

“THAT’S IT!” You growled. You spun around. “YOU WANT A BRAVE FACE?! THEN-!”

Your words stopped. You froze as your face twisted into one of fear.

_“Ah, there’s the face I remember. The face stricken with fear as you’re paralyzed by the horrors before you,”_

You backed up. “No... how can you... NO!”

Edol’s voice began to warp. _“That’s the (Y/N) I know. That’s the (Y/N) I love,”_

“I... no! Get away!”

A figure stood before you. _“I know you love me too, my love,”_

You’ve never felt this amount of terror surging through your body before.

“No... I... I killed you...” You’re eyes began to water. “I KILLED YOU!!”

_“Did you honestly think that killing me would stop me from finding you again, my dearest? Love always finds a way...”_

You screamed in terror. “BRANDI, NO!!”

~~~~~~~~

Tauriel rode her horse through the forest of Mirkwood, guiding the horse through the maze of trees. She rode as fast as she could. She needed to get to you, before it was too late. She knew what was waiting for her at Mirkwood. King Thranduil was there. He and his army had left not long after the battle was over. There was no doubt that he and the others were almost home.

Just as Tauriel suspected, there they were not too far up ahead. She needed to reach the castle before they did. Although she was banished, she cared not. All that mattered was you.

She urged her horse on as she rode towards the elves ahead of her. She maneuvered her horse around the slow paced army. Thranduil, who was now riding a horse, for his elk was dead, saw Tauriel ride past him at the speed of light. She rode towards the Elven fortress.

A spark of anger flickered within Thranduil. How dare Tauriel defy his will and command?! He snapped the reigns of his horse, and rode after Tauriel, his intent set on stopping her.

~~~~~~~~

As Tauriel approached the gates, she didn’t slow down her horse. The guards jumped out of the way in fear of being trampled by the massive brown horse. The gates burst open as Tauriel and her horse burst into the castle. As she burst in, she heard a scream.

“BRANDI, NO!”

It was you, Tauriel knew right away. She snapped the reigns of the horse, and rode towards the sound of the scream. Many elves were shocked or even frightened by Tauriel’s sudden entrance, but they were even more so when she continued to ride throughout the fortress.

~~~~~~~~

“Brandi, no!” You screamed. “How can you be here?! Please leave me alone!”

Brandi chuckled. _“Why could I want you leave you alone? I came for you, and only you,”_

Looking around frantically, your eyes fell on a kitchen knife on the counter. Without a second thought, you snatched up the knife, and pointed it towards Brandi.

“Stay back!” You jutted the knife forward. “Stay back, you hear?”

Brandi had an amused look on her face as she looked at the knife in your hand.

Your hands began to tremble. “Get away...” You sobbed. “Just get away, getawaygetaway...”

~~~~~~~~

Tauriel dismounted her horse, and ran towards the kitchen doors. She can hear your sobbing and pleading. No other elves were entering the kitchen, too worried or too afraid of you. Tauriel burst into the kitchen. Her eyes widened.

She saw you, holding a large kitchen knife towards a figure. This figure, was Brandi. But there was something different about her. Her eyes were dull, and so was her entire figure. It was like someone had sucked out all of the color out of her.

“JUST GET AWAY!” You screamed at the figure. “I killed you once... I’M NOT AFRAID TO DO IT AGAIN!!”

What happened next was a blur. Your blade darted forward towards Brandi, who’s smirk never disappeared. Tauriel lunged forward, yelling your name as she tried to stop the blade. The form of Brandi disappeared like smoke as Tauriel ran though it. Before you could process what had just happened, your blade plunged into Tauriel’s bicep.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds.

Tauriel screamed out in pain as hot red fluid burst forth from her arm. She clutched it as she stumbled back. Your eyes widened as you backed away, the knife clattering to the ground as tears streamed down your face, your face frozen in complete shock.

“T-Tauriel?” She could barely hear your voice.

Your head suddenly became dizzy. You groaned as the world around you began to spin. Your legs became rubbery as darkness creeped into your vision. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, and you fell to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

“(Y/N)?” Tauriel ran to you. “(Y/N), are you alright?” She tried to shake you awake with her good arm as she began to panic. “(Y/N), wake up! (Y/N)!”


	19. Blue Eyes

Tauriel continued to shake you as she kneeled next to you.

“(Y/N), please wake up!” She begged. “Please!”

A small groan came from your lips as you began to stir. Tauriel sighed with relief.

“Oh, (Y/N), thank the Valar you’re alright,”

“Ugh...” You groaned. “Who’s there? Who’s talking?”

“It’s Tauriel, (Y/N),” She said. “I’ve come back,”

“Tauriel...” You groaned again. “How long was she out?”

“You’ve been unconscious only for about a minute,” Tauriel explained. “I’m just glad you’re alright...” Her voice trailed off. “Wait. Who’s ‘she’?”

“She who?”

“You asked how long ‘she’ was out,”

You stood up. “Ah, yes. I was talking about (Y/N) of course,”

Tauriel grew confused. “Why are you talking about yourself in a third person perspective?”

You shook your head. “No, I was talking about (Y/N) from an observant perspective, actually,”

“Are... are you feeling alright, (Y/N)?” Tauriel asked.

“I feel perfectly fine, Tauriel,” You answered. “Don’t worry about (Y/N), though. She’s perfectly safe. As far as she knows, she’s still asleep,”

Tauriel’s eyes furrowed. “You’re not (Y/N)... are you? You’re the infection,”

You laughed. “I’m surprised it took you this long already to figure it out, really,”

“But how? Why?” Tauriel was perplexed. “How are you able to take control of (Y/N)?”

“It was easy, really,” You smiled. “Well, at first it was difficult. (Y/N)’s mind is a strong one, believe it or not. It took a lot to even begin to break her down. But after you unbalanced her psyche with your little stunt in the kitchen...”

Tauriel grabbed her bloody arm.

“...You were able to knock her out of alignment just enough for me to come out,”

“Why are you doing this?” Tauriel asked.

You scoffed. “That’s how the infection works. I take over (Y/N)’s mind and body, and I get the Star Emerald for Kulkodar,” You began to approach Tauriel. “I trust that you’ve already met him, right?”

Tauriel began to back up, but her back bumped into a counter. “Stay back!”

You laughed as you continued to approach her. “Why? You’re not scared of little (Y/N), are you? She’s the least menacing creature I’ve ever seen!”

Tauriel grabbed the hilts of her daggers. You scoffed when you saw this.

“What, are you going to hurt your dearest (Y/N)?”

Tauriel shook her head. “No. It’s like you said. You aren’t (Y/N),”

As quick as lightning, Tauriel threw her dagger at you. It pierced the shoulder of your clothes, and it stuck to the wall.

“Why, you little-!” You shouted. Tauriel took this time to run out of the kitchen.

Tauriel burst through the kitchen doors, and bumped right into Lord Thranduil himself. His face was one of pure anger.

“How dare you?!” His voice was loud. “How dare you defy my orders?!”

Just then, you burst through the kitchen doors, tackling Tauriel.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST RUN AWAY?!” You shouted.

You tackled Tauriel to the ground, your eyes glowing an unnatural blue. Your pupils were slits, and the whites of your eyes were a light turquoise. They were just like Kulkodar’s eyes.

Tauriel kicked you off of her as you grunted. Tauriel got up, attempting to run away, but you grabbed her. You pushed her towards a rail, and slammed her against it, her top half leaning towards the ground far below.

“You’re pathetic,” You growled. “(Y/N) put up a better fight than this,”

You rammed into Tauriel, the both of you falling towards the ground below the railing. Tauriel slammed into the ground onto her back, you falling on top of her.

“You know what?” You smiled. “I don’t think it’s lack of strength that’s holding you back. But rather... it’s lack of will,” You pinned Tauriel’s hands above her head with your right hand firmly. She cried out as pain shot up her injured arm. “You enjoy this, don’t you?”

Tauriel grunted. “N-no,” She muttered through gritted teeth.

“Oh, yes you do,” You chuckled darkly. “To you, it’s (Y/N) that’s pinning you down like this,” Your hand not occupied with pinning Tauriel’s wrists slid down her right side. Tauriel’s breathing picked up as she stiffened. “You wanted (Y/N) to be the instigator of your fantasies,”

Your hand slid into Tauriel’s pants as she gasped sharply. You smiled darkly as you dipped your head down towards her neck. “Just as I thought,” You kissed her neck gently as Tauriel’s breathing picked up once again. She felt your hand touch her in a place she had never been touched. She threw her head back as she grunted.

You chuckled darkly as you looked at Tauriel. “I know I’m not (Y/N), but what’s the difference. I have her body, her memories, her voice. Everything a faggot like you seems to be attracted to,”

Tauriel clenched her hands into fists and felt anger surge through her body. With a yell, she kneed you in the stomach. You grunted as you fell to your side. Before you could get up, Tauriel pointed the tip of her dagger at your neck.

“Enough,” She said through heavy pants. “Free (Y/N), or else,”

You laughed. “Or else what? I know you don’t have the guts to hurt (Y/N),” You chuckled again. “You just as weak as-”

Tauriel suddenly swiped her dagger. You fell to the floor with a yell, clutching your cheek. You looked up at her with a shocked look on your face as blood oozed from the small cut on your right cheek.

As if out of thin air, you stuck your hand out to the side, and a black sword materialized into your hand. The blade had trails of black smoke rising from it as you adjusted your grip, anger burning in your eyes.

Tauriel reached behind her, and pulled out her own sword from a sheath on her back.

You launched yourself at Tauriel while swinging your sword of darkness in a wide arc. Tauriel just barely managed to block the blow, the clang of sword against sword echoing across the walls. You then attempted a thrust, making Tauriel jump back, dodging the blade and putting more distance between herself and you.

You growled and lunged forward. Tauriel was just barely able to raise her sword to block a downward swing from you, and the two swords clashed with a resounding clang.

You pressed your blade against Tauriel’s in an attempt to break through the defense with sheer force. Tauriel buckled momentarily under the weight of your attack. She glared up at you.

A careful turn of her blade sent your sword down into the floor. Tauriel then proceeded to bring the pommel of her sword around to strike you in the throat.

The sudden thrust of the sword’s blunt hilt into your neck caused you to stumble back, coughing and wheezing from the blow.

“(Y/N),” Tauriel said softly. “I know you’re in there,”

With a growl, you lashed out, springing into the air and soaring across the room while yelling in a furious rage. You brought your sword beneath you and swiped at Tauriel as you soared by. Tauriel dodged to the left and spun herself around just in time to see you land and resume your ground attack. Sparks soared into the air as your blades clashed again and again.

The two of you were evenly matched for a time, but then you saw an opening. Tauriel swung too wide, overextended her attack, and you seized the opportunity. As quickly as your body would let you, you jumped into the air, using dark magic to keep you airborne. In one second, you took aim, and kicked.

You hit Tauriel in the chest, and the force of the blow sent her flying across the room. Her sword flew from her grasp. She crashed into a wall. Her breathing was labored as the pain of the kick pulsed throughout her body. She was greatly surprised by your sudden strength.

Tauriel took a few deep, gasping breaths to try and recover more quickly, but it was already too late. When she looked up, she saw you standing over her and felt your blade press against her neck.

Tauriel looked up at you with pleading eyes. “(Y/N)...”

Your unnatural blue eyes remained emotionless.

“(Y/N), please...” She whispered. “I know you would never do this...”

The blue in your eyes started to flicker, revealing your natural (e/c) colored eyes for a moment. The blade began to lower.

Tauriel stood up slowly, not taking her eyes off of you. “(Y/N)... stay with me...”

Your eyebrows lifted as your eyes flickered once again. A softness began to creep into your eyes as a look of recognition fell on your face.

“Tauriel...” You breathed. You began to lower your sword-

You screamed in pain as a wet squelching sound was heard. Tauriel looked in horror as a sharp blade protruded from your chest. Thranduil grunted as he plunged his blade deeper into you.

“NO!!” Tauriel screamed.

Your face twisted in pain as blood splattered onto the ground. But to Tauriel’s surprise, you smirked. You turned your head to Thranduil, who's eyes widened in surprise.

“Trying to kill me, your majesty?” You asked mockingly. You laughed as you reached behind you, and ripped the blade from your back. You pointed the blood soaked blade towards Thranduil. “You can’t kill this body. I’m the one keeping (Y/N) alive,”

As you said this, black tendrils came forth from the wound on your chest. They crossed over with themselves, becoming one with your flesh. They soon faded, and in their place, was completely healed skin. The only indication that you have been stabbed, was the hole in your shirt.

Thranduil looked at you in fear as he took a step backwards.

You laughed as you jutted the sword forward. “Oh, happy day! The great Lord Thranduil is afraid! He is truly afraid!” You laughed gleefully. “Of course, I know you’re not afraid of (Y/N), no, no. You are afraid, because you’ve seen this before, haven’t you?” You pointed the blade to Thranduil’s neck. “Who do I remind you of? Say it! Say the name!”

Thranduil swallowed, trying to keep a strong face. “Nyrin,”

You grinned. “Very good. Oh, I do love it when history repeats itself, don’t you?” You frowned suddenly. “Oh, but things are not exactly the same. Because I remember when you faced Nyrin. I seem to have recalled you giving him THIS!”

You darted the blade forward, giving the elven king a deep but thin cut on his forehead. The king groaned in sudden pain as blood flowed quickly into his eye.

You chuckled. “But that’s not all, no, no. You also gave him THIS and THIS!”

With two quick and precise movements that were too fast for the eye to follow, you sliced open a deep wound on Thranduil’s thigh, just above his knee, and then twirled the blade in a large arc as you followed its momentum and so brought it swinging down to cut through Thranduil’s bicep and almost go deep enough to the bone. He screeched in pain, blood dripping down onto the floor around him.

You laughed gleefully. “Oh, yes. The great and mighty Lord Thranduil, reduced to this,”

You curled your hand into a fist, and hit Thranduil on his jaw. The force of the blow left him utterly dazed.

You grinned mockingly. “You won’t even fight back. You pretend to be strong, but really... you’re just a scared little-”

Suddenly, your head was grabbed from behind. In one swift motion, Tauriel slammed your head onto the metal railing nearby. The sound of your temple connecting to the metal echoed through the room. You fell to the ground, the blade in your hand felling to the ground. You were groaning and hissing in pain as you clutched your head.

You panted heavily as you sat up slowly, still clutching your head in pain. You looked up at Tauriel with heavy lidded eyes. Your eyes widened as you looked at her. Tauriel saw your eyes, they were back to their normal (e/c) hue.

“T-Tauriel?” You stuttered. You looked around, your eyes widen in panic. Your pupils were rounded once again. It was like you had just woken up from a nightmare.

You scrambled to your feet, and ran away, and up the stairs.

“(Y/N)!” Tauriel shouted. She went after you, running up the stairs, flying up two at a time.

She heard a door slam at the top of the staircase. She got to your bedroom door. She struggled with the doorknob, but it was locked.

“(Y/N)!” Tauriel slammed her fists onto the door, trying to break down the door you had locked. She didn’t know what she was going to do once she got in, but there was one thing she knew for sure. She was never going to leave you again.


	20. Facing The Darkness

You slammed the door closed to your bedroom, pressing yourself against the door as you tried to regain your breath. Every nerve, muscle and bone in your body had gone suddenly rigid, you couldn't even think properly, there were far too many thoughts running through your head to concentrate on a specific one.

You slumped to the ground, your back still pressed against the door behind you. You panted as your heart rate slowed down. You leaned your head back onto the door.

_“You can’t run from me, (Y/N),”_

You clenched your jaw. “Go away,” You stood up. “Leave me alone!”

You heard someone pounding at the door, but whoever it was, they couldn’t get in due to you locking it beforehand.

_“You can be free of me, (Y/N),”_

“What?”

_“You can be free of me. You just have to give in to me,”_

You walked across the room. “And why would I do that?”

_“Because I know you want to,”_

Your eyebrows furrowed.

_“Aren’t you tired? Aren’t you exhausted of constantly fighting?”_

You hung your head, not saying anything.

_“All of that can stop, right now...”_

You turned your head, and your eyes widened. In the tall mirror on the wall, was a figure. You had expected to see your reflection, but that’s not what you saw at all. It was a black humanoid figure, with unnatural glowing blue eyes with no pupil. It stared straight at you.

_“... If you give in now...”_

Your eyes hardened. “You’re not real!” You screamed at it. “You’re only a reflection in the mirror! You’re only a dream!”

Suddenly, the black figure lurched towards, and crawled out of the mirror. Strands of inky blackness stuck to the outsides of the mirror as it slithered towards you. You shrank back in fear.

_“I am no dream, my dear!”_ The inky figure towered over you. _“I am a nightmare! A nightmare that will go on!”_

Despite your fear, you looked at it straight in the eye. “I will not give in! I will not surrender! You had control of me once, and I will not let that happen again! I hurt people because of you!”

_“Oh, please!”_ The creature mocked you. _“I know you don’t care that Thranduil got hurt! He tried to kill you!”_

You thought for a moment. “He wouldn’t have tried to kill me if you hadn’t come along!”

An inky black coil shot out at you. It quickly encased your throat as you gasped. You couldn’t breathe. You gasped for air as you clawed at the coil tightening around your neck.

The creature’s eyes bore into your very soul. _“You are making this very difficult, (Y/N),”_ It paused. _“I would have chosen someone else. It didn’t have to be you,”_

Despite your gasping, your face morphed into one of confusion. “What?”

_“You brought this upon yourself, (Y/N),”_ The creature hissed. You could almost see its sneer. _“Who was it that let herself be shot by that arrow?”_

Your eyes widened as the realization dawned upon you. The creature was right. This was your own fault. You were the one who let yourself be shot. You were the one who protected...

“Tauriel...” You whispered.

_“What?”_

Your face hardened. With a ferocious yell, you kicked the creature square in its inky chest. To your surprise, it grunted as it backed away. The coil around your neck fell away completely.

“If it weren’t for me, it was Tauriel who would have been shot!” You screamed at it. “She would have had to go through everything I had to!”

_“Why do you care?”_ The creature spat.

You answered, by letting out a yell, and charging it head on. The creature laughed sinisterly as darkness seemed to grow out of its back like wings. You screamed as the darkness engulfed you.

The darkness was whipping around you like wind. Your hair blew in all sort of directions as you tried to keep your eyes open as the wind stung your eyes.

_“Aren’t you tired of fighting?”_ The creature’s voice boomed around you.

“Yes I am!” You yelled over the wind. “I’m so tired of fighting!” Your eyes hardened as you clenched your fists. “But I have been fighting every day of my life! Not just against you, but other darknesses of Earth!”

The creature’s huge blue eyes opened in front of you.

“You are not the only darkness I’ve faced,” You stood your ground as the wind whipped harder. “And you won’t be the last. But I will not let you take me down!”

With a throat ripping yell, you ran straight towards the creature’s eyes. You didn’t know what you were going to do, but you were going to fight in any way you could.

Suddenly, another dark coil lashed out at you. You yelled in pain as it hit you square in the chest. The sheer force of the hit sent you flying through the air. You hit the floor hard.

You felt blood spilling from a cut on your forehead, trickling into your right eye. Your breathing was ragged as your chest heaved, the force of the blow leaving you breathless.

The massive icy blue eyes towered over you. You could no longer see the creature’s face, if it had one in the first place. It was just those eyes. You hung your head as you closed your eyes.

“(Y/N)!”

Your eyes opened. You waited to hear it again, but all you could hear was the wind whipping.

“(Y/N)!”

It was louder now. You slowly lifted your head.

“Tauriel?” Your voice was weak.

“(Y/N)!” It was Tauriel! There she was, running through the dark wind encasing you.

A small smile took over your lips as you allowed yourself to hope. “Tauriel?”

Suddenly, black coils shot from the ground. They wrapped around your wrists, ankles, throat and chest. You were pulled down to your knees as you choked.

“(Y/N)!” Tauriel pushed herself through the barrier of the dark wind. She had managed to break down the door, but all there was, was black winds whipping in the room. But through a thin wall of black, she just barely managed to see you.

She rushed in without a second thought. Moving through the wind was like trying to run though the thickest water on the face of Middle Earth. But the elf kept on pushing. She was going to get to you no matter what.

“(Y/N)!” She yelled. She reached out her arm as far as she could. She struggled to walk forward. “Reach for me!”

You looked up at her. Your eyes were bloodshot as tears streamed from your cheeks. Your mouth hung open, gasping for breath. The skin around your neck was starting to turn purple from the coils that wrapped itself to tightly.

You tried to move your arms, but they were pulled back by the coils.

Tauriel felt tears streaming down her face as she strained to keep moving forwards. It was as if the closer she got to you, the harder it was to move.

Tauriel was almost about two meters away from you now. “(Y/N)!” She nearly screamed. “Please don’t give up!” She choked back a sob as she whispered: “Don’t give up on me...”

You hung your head. “It’s too late...” Tauriel had to strain to hear you. “I can’t fight it anymore... I tried so hard... but I can’t...” You closes your eyes.

Tauriel shook her head as her voice grew desperate. “NO! No, it’s not too late!” You looked up at her, your eyes almost bulging out of your skull. Tauriel strained as she reached her arm out even further. “Please, (Y/N)!”

“You can’t save me, Tauriel,”

“It’s too late... You can’t save me, Tauriel...”

Tauriel strained. “Yes I can! Please stay with me! Please! Don’t leave me!”

Your lifted your head up as you looked at Tauriel, a look of realization on your face. You gritted your teeth as you yelled. You clenched your fists as you forced your right arm forward. You screamed through your teeth as the pain of the tight coil shocked through your arm.

With a mighty yell, you lurched your arm forward, breaking your arm free. Tears streamed down your cheeks again as you reached as far as you could. Tauriel reached as she strained to stand her ground. Your hands were only two inches away from each other.

More coils wrapped around your body as they began to pull you back.

“I can’t reach!”

“I’m not letting you go!” Tauriel screamed as tears streamed down her face. Your fingertips brushed. “I got you! I’m not letting go...”

“Tauriel...” Your eyes were filled with regret.

Tauriel shook her head. “Don’t you dare give up!” With all her strength, she lurched forward, but it still wasn’t enough. The extreme wind was keeping her from you.

Tauriel’s voice was more desperate that ever. “Please! I can’t live without you!”

Your eyes widened at her words. Real hope filled your heart for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

Tauriel reached out one more time. “Don’t leave me!”

With all your might, you reached out, stretching your fingertips. The two of you touched fingertips. Both of your fingers curled. Tauriel finally had some sort of grip on you. As your fingers touched, the wind seemed to grow stronger. It was now stinging your skin.

Tauriel yelled as she grabbed onto your wrist, and you did the same. She pulled as hard as she could with a yell. She pulled you free of the coils, with some small strands still sticking onto your clothes.

She held you close to her chest as the dark wind continued to whip around the two of you.

“Stay with me...” She whispered as she held you tighter.

You smiled, and let tears fall. These weren’t tears of fear, or despair. No, these were tears of joy. An emotion you haven’t felt for weeks.

Fresh tears ran down Tauriel’s cheeks as she smiled and pressed her forehead with yours.

Suddenly, a shriek was heard. You both snapped your heads up. The dark wind was faltering. Tauriel held you close, worried about what was about to happen.

The winds died off. Your room was now back to normal, save for a smaller version of the inky creature that terrorized you on the floor.

“It cannot be...” Thranduil’s voice just registered with your ears. His eyes furrowed with anger as he stepped towards the creature.

_“Ego, dae!”_ Thranduil’s booms. The creature hisses as it squirmed. “Go back to your master, shadow!” The creature backed away as it hissed. Thranduil became more angry. “You will poison minds no longer!”

The creature hissed, before it sprang up into the air. It turned into smoke, before it flew out of the window.

Silence prevailed for a few moments. Still in Tauriel’s arms, you shook. “W-What was that?”

“That...” Thranduil looked out the window. “Was a fraction of Morgoth’s very being. He put apart of himself inside the arrow that struck you, (Y/N),”

“How did no one detect such a dark force inside her?” Tauriel demanded to know.

“It seems as if it had somehow hidden itself away from us inside of (Y/N),”

“How is that possible?” Tauriel asked.

Thranduil shook his head grimly. “I don’t know...”

You lifted your head up from Tauriel’s chest. “Will I have any more nightmares?”

Thranduil shook his head as he turned to face you. “It has gone back to its master. It feeds off of despair and fear. But once you let yourself hope, (Y/N), you had weakened it,” He paused. “No more nightmares,”

You almost cried with relief as you fell back onto Tauriel’s chest. Thranduil looked at the two of you. Tauriel looked up at him defiantly as she held you closer to her chest as if to say: ‘Don’t you dare,’

Thranduil paused for a moment, as if considering what to do next. To Tauriel’s surprise, he walked past the two of you. He opened the bedroom door.

Outside the bedroom door, were dozens of elves. You hadn’t even noticed that anyone besides Tauriel and Thranduil were here.

“Alora,” Thranduil said. “Take Lady (Y/N) and Tauriel to the infirmary,”

An elf maiden bowed her head, before rushing towards the two of you. Both she and Tauriel helped you up to your feet.

You looked up at Tauriel, feeling relief from terrors for the first time in weeks.


	21. Comfort

You wake up in a bed. You don’t remember falling asleep. You smiled. You haven’t felt this well rested in weeks. You had no nightmares.

You shuffle a bit in the mattress and let out a long sigh, but pause when you feel a coolness placed in your right hand.

Looking to your side you see a certain red headed elf, nimble fingers entwined with your own. Tauriel was laying asleep on a bed right next to you. She seemed to be in a deep slumber and all the stress of war and worry is washed away leaving behind a rather innocent face. Her hair cascades like a waterfall over the pillow her head lay on.

You rubbed a thumb over her knuckles. Her bicep was wrapped in white gauze. You felt a stab of guilt in your gut when you saw the injury that you caused. But then you reminded yourself that it wasn’t you that hurt her. It was the creature, or Morgoth, as you were recently informed.

“How do you feel, Lady (Y/N)?”

You turned your head. A healer was beside you, a glass of water in hand.

“I feel pretty good, actually,” You smiled as you grabbed the glass of water offered to you. Before you took a sip, you hesitated.

The healer smiled. “No medicine this time, just water,”

You let out a small sigh of relief. It didn’t take you long to drink the whole glass.

“I’ve been in here way too much,” You said wryly.

The healer chuckled. “Hopefully it will be the last,”

You looked at Tauriel. “Is she okay?”

The healer smiled. “Yes, she is alright,”

You sighed in relief. “How long were we asleep?”

“Only about a day,” The healer smiled. “Tauriel wouldn’t let go of your hand,”

You smiled as you looked at Tauriel’s hand still in your own. “I can see that,”

Just then, you saw Tauriel begin to stir.

The healer smiled. “I’ll give you two some time,” He swiftly left the infirmary, closing the door behind him.

You got up from your bed, not letting go of Tauriel’s hand. You kneeled down next to Tauriel’s nearby bed.

You stroked her hair. “Tauriel?” You gently shook her shoulder. “Wake up, honey,”

The red haired elf slowly opened her eyes. She blearily looked at you for a second. Her eyes suddenly glistened in a youthful glimmer with a hint of worry.

“(Y/N)! How are you? Do you feel alright?”

You smiled. “Don’t worry! I’m better now,”

Tauriel sighed with relief. She smiled as she brought your hand to her lips. She gently kissed your knuckles.

“How’s your arm?” You asked with a hint of worry.

Tauriel smiled. “Don’t worry, (Y/N). I’ve survived much worse injuries than this,”

You chuckled wryly. “Yeah me too,”

Tauriel’s face fell. “(Y/N),”

You looked at her, surprised by her sudden change of tone.

“I know about Brandi...”

You went pale. “Y-you do?”

Tauriel nodded. “I was encountered by someone. He showed me your past, and tried to convince me to bring him the Star Emerald,”

You almost forgot about the Star Emerald. “Why?”

“He thought by showing me your past, that I would see how broken your world is. He thought I would want to fix it,”

“And do you?”

“Of course I do,” Tauriel assured you. “But he wants the Star Emerald to destroy worlds he deemed unworthy,”

Your heart dropped.

“But I refused him. Then he told me that he infected you. Then I came right back to you,”

You hung your head. “Did he show you...” You swallowed. “Did he show you everything?”

Tauriel grabbed both of your hands. “I do not think of you any differently, (Y/N),” She caressed your cheek. _“Gellon ned i galar i chent gîn ned i gladhog,”_

You perked your head up as you smiled. “What does that mean?”

Tauriel smiled. “You’ll find out,”

“Nooooo,” You whined. “Can you tell me now?”

Tauriel gently tapped your nose. “No,”

You sighed. “I’ll figure it out by myself,”

Tauriel smiled.

You looked up at her. “Can I...” You bit your lip. “Can I lay down with you?”

Tauriel looked shocked for a moment, but then she smiled warmly. “Of course,” She scooted over, inviting you under the blanket.

Slowly, carefully, you lowered herself onto the bed beside Tauriel. You lied stiffly on your side facing Tauriel. You were nervous. You weren’t sure what to do next.

That's when Tauriel bridged the gap. Tauriel slid closer and curled around you, draping an arm around you, pulling you close. You tucked your head under Tauriel’s chin, nestling into the warmth of her chest.

You smiled as you felt Tauriel pull a blanket over the two of you. You nuzzled closer into Tauriel’s chest. It felt like the safest place in the world.

~~~~~~~~

You slowly opened your eyes. You looked around the infirmary. It was dark. It must be night time.

You felt Tauriel’s arms still around you. You must have moved in your sleep. Your back was now against Tauriel’s front. Her arms wrapped around you, and her chin was rested on your head.

Tauriel’s breathing was steady as she slept peacefully. You smiled as you backed up closer to Tauriel and bringing the blanket up closer to your chin.

You heard the infirmary door open. You slammed your eyes shut.

“My Lord,” You heard a healer whisper. “I didn’t want to wake them,”

You heard Thranduil sigh. “I am glad that they are well,” He said. “How long do you think they should stay?”

“They should be able to leave in the morning My Lord,” The healer said.

You didn’t dare stir or move a muscle on your face as you listened in on the conversation.

“Good,” Thranduil said. “Just in time for (Y/N) to return home,”

You felt your heart drop. But you didn’t move.

“Return?” The healer asked. “But My Lord-”

You heard nothing. Thranduil must have silenced the healer with one of his stern stares.

“She can not stay,” Thranduil said softly. “She doesn’t belong here,”

A pause. “But...” The healer said quietly. “She has found a place in Tauriel’s heart,”

A longer pause. A sigh from Thranduil. “(Y/N) has suffered enough in our world. It is time she returned,”

You heard the two leave after a moment. You buried your face into the blankets, crying yourself back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~

Tauriel woke up to screaming. Her eyes snapped open as she found you thrashing around in the bed.

“(Y/N)!” She grabbed your shoulders. “(Y/N)!”

You stopped screaming, and looked at Tauriel, tears streaming down your face.

“I’m sorry...” You choked out.

Tauriel gently grabbed your face, looking you straight in the eye. “It’s okay. I’m here,” She smiled gently. “Are you okay?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Just a nightmare. Not the ones I got from Morgoth. Just a normal one,”

Tauriel embraced you in a tight hug. You hesitated for a moment, but you returned the hug.

You stay that way for a long time, your face tucked into Tauriel’s shoulder, Tauriel gently cradling your head. Tauriel is careful not to hug you too hard or make you feel restrained, anticipating the moment that you will start to pull away — but you don’t.

“(Y/N)?” whispers, as gently as possible. You don’t respond or move. Tauriel almost wonders if you fell asleep, except that her grip on her hasn’t relaxed at all. Tauriel tries again. “(Y/N),” she breathes. “This bed isn’t very big. Would you like to go to you room where it is more comfortable?”

For a moment, you still don’t respond — then finally, Tauriel felt you nod into the crook of her neck.

“Okay,” You whispered, muffled by the fabric of Tauriel’s clothes.

“I’m going to carry you, okay?” Your only response is another faint nod into her shoulder.

Carefully, she shifts you in her arms, slipping one arm behind your knees and the other around the small of your back. You still don’t let go. Your head stayed buried in Tauriel’s shoulder, like it’s the last safe place in the world.

You felt Tauriel carry you throughout the halls. You felt her carry you up the stairs. Finally, you hear her enter your room. You had left the door open the last time you were in there, so Tauriel didn’t need to open the door herself.

Tauriel shut the door behind the two of you with her foot, before placing you on your bed. It was much softer and wider than the small scratchy bed in the infirmary.

Tauriel immediately joined you in bed. She held you close, your head laying on her chest.

Tauriel stroked your hair, and began to [sing](https://youtu.be/zFp9qGtqrbw)softly.

_“Hön’marën kena-uva kala,_

_Indönya ullumeá_

_Nör’ande sëra mi lorien_

_Îm’eri ratö naya...”_

Her voice was beautiful. You visibly calmed down, melting into her embrace as you felt yourself slowly falling asleep to the soothing song.

_“Iarya nîn mëlissè_

_Le sinte îma sinomë_

_Ána sama lemî oloorë_

_Le ar’uunér ana kaurë_

_Uur’anor wannëa_

_Islime va’arya_

_Telume siila tere_

_Na’are utumno wanya_

_Erüma, helkàda_

_Raanè ressè_

_Lörna à’kuilä_

_Vàrna mi’olör_

_Türma ei ràumo_

_Sinomë...”_

You smiled sadly as you allowed yourself to fall asleep. But before you fell deep into slumber, your heart broke, knowing that Thranduil wouldn’t allow you to stay.


End file.
